More big names expected to be on move during winter meetings

There have been various reports that Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon and Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips have been shopped around, but the sheer

Joe Lemire | Dec 9, 2013

More big names expected to be on move during winter meetings /

Shin-Soo Choo is the top remaining player on the free-agent market. — Shin-Soo Choo is the top remaining player on the free-agent market :: Al Behrman/AP

There have been various reports that Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon and Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips have been shopped around, but the sheer logistics of finding a partner willing to make a worthwhile deal for either means a trade is unlikely. After all, Papelbon, who turned 33 last month, saw a precipitous decline in his strikeout rate (from a career 10.8 K/9 to an 8.3 K/9 last season) and is owed $26 million the next two seasons with a vesting option for a third year at $13 million if he finishes 100 games the next two years or 55 in '15. Phillips, who'll turn 33 in June, is owed $50 million over the next four seasons and just had the worst OPS (.706) of his eight seasons in Cincinnati.

Published Dec 9, 2013

JOE LEMIRE

Staff Writer, Sports Illustrated Staff writer Joe Lemire is in his seventh year at Sports Illustrated and his fourth season covering baseball full time. Lemire writes features and analysis for SI and SI.com and is responsible for the website's weekly MLB Power Rankings. He has profiled Pirates star Andrew McCutchen and Braves rookie sensation Evan Gattis for the magazine. Lemire's penchant for covering America's pastime is to be expected considering his inspirations, Tom Verducci and Peter Gammons, are among the most well-known writers in the sport. Before his current role, Lemire spent his first three years with SI oscillating between baseball, college basketball, high school football and sports business. This came on the heels of a summer internship with the magazine in 2004 and a tenure as a stringer with SI: On Campus. Born in Richmond, Va., and raised in Lowell, Mass., Lemire graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005 with a B.A. in government and a minor in economics. Before joining SI he covered high school and college sports for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va. He earned two Virginia Press Association awards for his work, one while a student writing at University of Virginia's Cavalier Daily and one at the Daily News-Record.