Philadelphia Phillies

From 2002 to 2005, Placido Polanco was a consistent, dependable second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. When Chase Utley burst onto the scene, Polanco was regulated to splitting time at third base.

Now the 34-year-old is returning to Philadelphia, this time as the starting third baseman. The Phillies and Polanco have agreed to a three-year, $18 million contract. A mutual option for a fourth year is also included as well as $450,000 available in award incentives.

Placido Polanco didn’t receive an arbitration offer from the Tigers, making him all the more valuable on the open market.  He didn’t last long on that open market and is reportedly heading to the Philadelphia Phillies.

It is being reported that Polanco is getting a 3-year deal worth $18M.  There is a mutual option for the fourth year.  The Phillies obviously don’t have room for Polanco at second base since they have Chase Utley, so it appears that Placido will be making a return to third base.

ESPN's Jayson Stark reports that the Phillies have showed interest in 42-year-old free agent pitcher John Smoltz as a low risk, high reward signing, similar to the role played by Pedro Martinez last season.

Smoltz isn’t the same pitcher he was five years ago, but he showed with the Cardinals that he can still be effective despite having a miserable couple of outings in Boston.

The Detroit Tigers did not offer second baseman Placido Polanco arbitration, which means any team can sign him without having to forfeit a draft pick since he's a Type-A free agent.

Polanco, 34, hit .285/.331/.396 with 10 homers and 72 RBI in 675 plate appearances with the Tigers last season. He only struck out 46 times last season, which indicates he makes contact most of the time.

He has been linked to the Phillies multiple times thus far this offseason as many believe they're eyeing him to be their third base this coming season despite him not playing third since 2004.

Mandy Housenick of The Morning Call is reporting that Northampton graduate Bran Schneider has signed a two-year free agent contract with the Phillies after passing a physical on Tuesday.

Schneider, who grew up a Phillies fan, hit .218/.292/.335 with three home runs and 24 RBI in 170 at-bats with the New York Mets last season while being slowed down by back, calf and knee injuries.

This past season, Philadelphia almost won a second consecutive World Series title. Almost.

The Phillies were a fantastic, diverse team. They had their sluggers, like Ryan James Howard, Rauuuuul, and Chase. They had their fair share of wheels, with J-Roll lighting up the base paths for 31 steals and a success rate of 80 percent.

The off-season is a funny time for baseball fans, especially when your pro football team is not setting the world on fire.

Following last year's World Series win by the Philadelphia Phillies, one player stood out in my mind in the off-season: Chase Utley.

In their six-game loss to the New York Yankees last season, Utley again stood tall.

Crowd cheering, chest-pounding, fire-eating, kill your best starter, hide your momma, where's Obama, we ain't lying performance.