Report: Phils Offered Lowell 4 years, $50m

Inqy:

Lowell reportedly has agreed to a three-year, $38 million contract to remain with the Boston Red Sox, for whom he won World Series MVP honors last month.

ESPN.com reported that the Phillies' offer was for four years and $50 million, and that for a brief moment, the Phils thought they had Lowell.

I don't know if I believe these types of articles.  Do you really think a player would take $12 million less to go play in Boston as opposed to Philadelphia?  It really says something positive about the club up in New England and it certainly says something else about the way players view Philadelphia.  Not good.

As Curt Schilling says,   "How cool is that? Leaving years and dollars on the table to come back here for three more years, good stuff. Pretty nice to think you are fans in a town that is now a desired destination for athletes across the major sports. Come a long way for sure."

Cool for Boston.  Not cool for us.

>>Phillies made a play for Lowell, end up playing with selves [Inqy]

Comments

[theKrisheim]

Mike Lowell signing with the Red Sox has more to do with the piece of jewelry he will be getting shortly and the group of guys on that team.

I dont think this has anything to do with him or any other players thinking Philadelphia is not a good place to play. If anything one could be happy that a player didnt just abandon the fans of a team for $. Unfortunately most players dont do that and unfortunately, Phils fans loose in this case.

[Sanganoski]

Mike Lowell can now go to camp knowing that he won't have to "prove" his worth to the Sox the way that he almost certainly would have had to with the Phils fans, because we really don't want another Von Hayes on the team or a Lance Parrish, meaning "All the Dough, and No Go." now do we???, not at the stage the Phils are at now, they're "This Close!!" Sure up the "Pen" and then the other pieces will fall into place.

[willie]

I tend to think Buster Olney is a blow hard. He's been getting shit wrong the last couple weeks, to the point of people questioning ESPN's creditability.

They put that deal in right of Lowell weeks ago, Boston did, why would he test the market for as long as he did if we was gonna take 12 million less to stay there, it lacks rationale.

On a side note, considering this to be true means one thing: You've got enough to sign a younger more important free agent, Rowand.

[Gaze]

I'm not really buying this story. It sounds like another one of those Ruben Amaro "Look guys, we tried!" stories. I'll bet they called Lowell with the offer 15 minutes after he came to terms with the Red Sox.

[M,ichael C]

Well, it wasn't just Olney. Keith Law and Gammons were reporting it too, and Zolecki reports it from 'sources in the organization' in the Inquirer today

[Matt P]

I like Olney and think his credibility is more than intact as a result of this. He said the offer was floated a while back, Gillick denied it, which made it look bad for Buster, but then the offer was on the table last night, confirmed by Amaro. In Buster I trust. He and Gammo are about as credible as it comes in baseball reporting, holding ESPN on their shoulders in that category.

[Hextall454]

Honestly, I'm glad we didn't end with Lowell. I feel like he's reached the peak of his potential, and the Phils would have been stuck with a long-term deal for a mediocre player.

[i hate boston]

I am sick of boston. boston boston boston...SAWX, BRADY and now GAAAAAAAANET... i hope brady gets his ACL torn off next weekend in the 4th quarter of a blowout win. boston can go ahead and eat it.

[Dungheap]

Any word on a no-trade clause? I hope they give him the Arroyo treatment, but that's because I'm spiteful.

[GE]

So I guess this means they can use that extra $12.5m/yr for other reasons.

[willie]

If its not from Rosenthal I poo poo it all

[ryan]

I'm with Hextall, while I would've loved to get a third basemen coming off of a great year, Lowell's value will never be higher than it is right now, as reigning World Series MVP. Twelve and a half mill a season is a lot to drop when we have glaring holes in our pitching, and apparently only 2 outfielders at this point. And although he has been solid the past few years, jumping back to '05, be batted .236 and had 58 RBI in 150 games played. Lowell wasn't the solution for us at third anyway, now with this money we can hopefully get some sort of a similar discount for Rowand to come back to Philly!

[John]

I'm sick of the "scrap heap" mentality of Philadelphia teams. The Phillies bullpen last year was a disgraceful combination of old, fat, burnt out players. The Eagles are following suit with the likes of Kearse, Howard, Reno Mahe, and J.R. Reed. I just read in the Inquirer that J.R. Reed could possibly START against New England. Are you kidding me. Why don't we spend some money and get a decent player instead of rummaging through the recycling bin all the time. And on another Eagles note, signing a #3 receiver and labeling him a #1 doesn't make him a #1.

[DSD]

So...I'm hoping we can use that money and sign Aaron Roawnd. Lowell, while a terrific player, is getting up there in age, so I'm not tremoundously dissapointed. However, I will be dissapointed if they don't use that cash to resign Rowand. I'm not entirely sure what he's asking for but certainly the Phils have more money to throw at him now that lowell isn't coming here.

[willie]

5 yr at 60 mil

[Matt P]

i heard 6 at 84mil but that could be pretty dated since it was before the market opened, and he's still out there, as are all the other CFs.

[Kulp]

Lowell didn't exactly take less money to stay with the Red Sox... all he did was take a contract with one less year. The money per year is still the same. I'm not so sure he deserves a pat on the back for that since he could potentially even make more money when the contract expires or who knows, he may even be hanging it up at that point.

John, about J.R. Reed possibly making a start next week, what do you expect them to do? Most NFL rosters only have room for 4 safeties, and the Eagles started the season with Dawk, Considine, and Mikell. Obviously when they lose two guys to injury, you're going to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. And no, the Eagles could not have used their first round pick on a safety because those players were taken.

Nobody wants J.R. Reed to start at safety, but sometimes teams are forced into these positions. You think the Panthers want to drag Testaverde off the street? For years, the Eagles were known for their depth, but this is not one of those teams.

[Joe Manning]

Eagles sign LeCharles Bentley!