Jeremy Hellickson: Opening Day Starter?

The Phillies made their first meaningful acquisition of the offseason. The Phillies have traded 8th round 2014 draft pick Sam McWilliams to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson is entering his final year of arbitration before becoming a free agent. Estimates have been around $6.6M in salary for 2016, a very reasonable number for an innings eater that the Phillies need with all the young arms that could potentially use. The hope is that Hellickson can put up good enough numbers to get to through July and the Phillies can flip him mid-season to a contender for some much-needed quality prospects. The Phillies gave up little as far as the return to Arizona goes. McWilliams is basically the definition of a lottery pick prospect having spent the last two seasons in the Gulf Coast League.

The deal is a no-brainer for the Phillies as they gave up something inconsequential in return in their eyes for a potentially tradeable innings eater in Hellickson. Looking at it in November, things can go one of a couple of different ways. Hellickson pitches exceptionally well and is traded for a long-term piece (or pieces) at the end of July. Hellickson pitches as he basically has over the last couple of seasons and gives the Phillies 150-175 innings to save some of the younger arms. One thing that is sure, the Phillies most likely have zero chance at signing a short-term deal with Hellickson due to him being a Scott Boras client. 2016 is looking to be just a pit stop for Hellickson, but depending on how well he pitches will determine how short the stay is.

Tags: arizona diamondbacks, Following the 40, Jeremy Hellickson, Michael Haftman, MLB News, philadelphia sports, Phillies News, Philly Sports News, Sam McWilliams, TalkSportsPhilly