Chase Utley: ‘I don’t plan on going anywhere’
The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to be sellers prior to the MLB trading deadline at the end of July, but don’t expect Chase Utley to be headed anywhere after he told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that he has no desire to waive his no-trade rights.
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As a 10-and-5 player Utley, 35, has full no-trade protection and the Phillies All-Star second baseman would be an attractive player that would help a contender make a playoff push in the final two months of the season.
However, he seems comfortable sticking it out for the last-place Phillies who currently are six games out of first place in the National League East.
“Well, you’re creating situations that aren’t necessarily going to happen,” Utley told MLB.com. “I guess we’d have to see at that point, but I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
“I’m not going to volunteer to go anywhere. Even if somewhere else was the perfect spot, this is what I know. You weigh that against the instant gratification of winning right now. You leave, and there’s no guarantee you’re going to win anyways. You pack up to leave for a different organization, a different city, and it feels temporary.”
You can expect the Phillies to try and persuade him to waive his no-trade rights if they get an offer that would give them the prospects that they desire to remake the roster.
It wouldn’t be the first time a player changed his stance about not wanting to waive his 10-and-5 rights as the trade deadline is a little more than one month away and no shortage of teams who would be interested in acquiring the All-Star second baseman.
Utley leads the Phillies in hits with 85 and with a .295 batting average. He also has 24 doubles, five home runs and 33 runs batted in over 71 games. He signed a two-year extension last year worth $25 million and has three vesting options worth $15 million each if he reaches 500 plate appearances.