Shane Victorino keeps Philadelphia Phillies in dilemma as his contract is ending - MLB
While the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season is going to be the greatest opportunity for Shane Victorino to fetch hefty sums in free agency, his role in the Philadelphia Phillies remains undetermined.
Rightly a veteran, whether he can be effective as a lead-off hitter or a slugger coming down the line are some of the options he keeps the Phillies guessing about. This is something rather unusual for a player who has been through seven seasons.
Just six months away from free agency, the Phillies are looking to experience the best of him this year. Their quest for this obviously surges immensely after two of their most reliable hitters, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are injured.
Three games the Phillies have played so far in the regular season have shown the weakness of their offence. In this situation experienced players like Victorino automatically see the bulk of the responsibility falling on their shoulders.
As his contract is about to end, Phillies are growing concerned over the dilemma between retaining and just letting him go.
From the way he lifted Phillies last season, they may think on going after him, but the fact that deeper analysis of his last year stats points to a potential loophole he has with his role will go on to discourage them.
Even Victorino himself is not sure to call his last season performance the best of his career or a beginning of the decline.
“If you look at my numbers across the board, yeah they were good,” Victorino said. “But if I had stayed healthy another month, what could they have been?”
As for the Phillies’ general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.’s views, he is a player still in the process of finding his best despite being veteran.
“It’s funny because Vic is a player who is now a veteran, but I think he’s still learning what kind of player he is,” Amaro Jr. said. “He’s shown some times when he’s got power. He’s shown some times when he uses his speed.”
At the end of season it will be interesting to note whether he will make mammoth money from free agency or maybe think about retiring from baseball.
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