Listen my children and you shall hear of the winter trade of Ben Revere.
Too cliché? Yes, it is. But the Phillies made a bold statement at baseball’s Winter Meetings Thursday by dealing for center fielder Ben Revere. The 24-year-old has been compared favorably to a young Juan Pierre.
While he has no power (no home runs in 1,064 plate appearances), Revere brings a solid bat (.294), speed (40 steals) and a stellar glove. More importantly, he isn’t arbitration-eligible until 2014. Revere is expected to bat at the top of the order, either lead-off or in the two-hole.
“Ben is an outstanding, young, controllable center fielder who fits nicely with our club,” said GM Ruben Amaro, Jr.
The Phils had to lose some valuable assets to attain Revere.
The team parted ways with right-handed starter Vance Worley (18-13, 3.50 ERA in 46 career starts for the Phillies) and 23-year-old pitching prospect Trevor May, who struck out 151 batters with a 4.87 ERA in 149.2 innings at Double-A Reading last season.
