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Chase Utley Trade Rumors: Utley Could Be Moved Today

By Phillip Dengler
Published on: 07:59 PST, Aug 19, 2015

Chase Utley is once again the topic of potential trade rumors. Over the past few weeks, the Phillies second baseman has been linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and San Francisco Giants.

Trades to the Angels and Giants almost happened over the past week, but factors such as Utley’s preference to play in Southern California, guaranteed playing time, and his high salary and 2016 buyout have held up any deals from finalizing. Even though the Angels are a contender in Southern California, the trade fell apart for currently unknown reasons. Yesterday, it appeared as though Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. put an end to any potential deal when he spoke to Sports Radio WIP in Philadelphia.

While posturing by general managers is very common in professional sports, it appeared as though Amaro was being truthful. Everyone who is close to Utley claims that his preference is to remain in Philadelphia throughout the rest of his career. His declining numbers, nagging injuries, and rental status made a deal appear even more difficult.

A little over 24 hours later, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported via Twitter that the entire situation is coming to a head, and Utley could be moved today.

Out of the six teams that Utley has been linked to over the past month, it appears as though only the Angels and Dodgers are still in the running, according to Rosenthal.

To make matters even more interesting, 97.5 The Fanatic, a Philadelphia based sports radio station, reported via Twitter that Utley is not in the starting lineup tonight.

At 36-years-old, Chase Utley does take more days off for rest than he did when he was a younger player. With that being said, Utley did not play on August 16, and the Phillies had an off day on August 17, so he should be well rested. Regardless of the reason for him not being in the lineup, there is definitely something to the rumors, and it appears as though today is the deadline for any potential deal, according to Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia.

Whether or not that is true is anyone’s guess. Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday that Utley is most likely staying in Philadelphia, so it is hard to believe anything is final until the deadline. The Phillies still have a little less than two weeks until the August 31 waiver trade deadline for players to be eligible for postseason play, so contending teams still have time to put together an attractive package for Utley.

[Image via John Konstantaras / Getty Images]

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