Phillies inquired about Michael Young

The Philadelphia Phillies recently contacted the Texas Rangers to express an interest in infielder Michael Young, three Major League Baseball sources confirmed to ESPN.com. But the trade talks failed to yield much common ground, and discussions between the clubs are no longer active.

One source said the discussions were "brief'' and amounted essentially to "tire kicking'' on the part of the Phillies.

Sources wouldn't reveal which names were discussed in talks between the Phillies and Rangers, but one likely candidate is pitcher Joe Blanton, who will make $17 million over the next two seasons and has been relegated to the fifth starter's spot behind Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in Philadelphia. It's also uncertain what the acquisition of Young would mean to incumbent Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco. Unless talks between the clubs are revived soon, that point is probably moot.


Anyway, just passing it along. The club continues to get calls and talk to folks, but the challenge is finding a team that will take on a large portion of the $48 million remaining on Young's salary and give the Rangers what they feel is fair value for Young in terms of players. (That's why I think a trade for Young is unlikely).

Source : http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/texas-rangers/post/_/id/4860134/phillies-inquired-briefly-about-michael-young