Dubbed as an institution of the Philadelphia Phillies, it was really emotional when veteran second baseman Chase Utley decided to leave his team of eight years and agreed on a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Phillies will be sending the 36-year-old to the Dodgers in exchange for two minor leaguers. They will also be paying $4 million to Los Angeles to offset the $6 million remaining on Utley's $15 million salary. In return, the California-based squad will send utility player Darnell Sweeney and right-handed pitcher John Richy to Philadelphia.
Just a day after Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. claimed that the second baseman was likely to remain in Philadelphia for the remainder of the season, the finalization of the deal came up.
"Three weeks ago or so, I had a conversation with Ruben," Utley is quoted by the MLB.com. "We put our heads together and decided it might be best for us to part ways. I gave them a list of a handful of teams that I would consider playing for, and then it was Ruben's job to find the best deal he could for the organization. And ultimately it came down to the Dodgers, a team I grew up watching."
Utley grew up in nearby Long Beach and reportedly aired out his preference of playing with the Dodgers.
"I don't think we're going to be around all night so we can go through all the great memories we had here, but obviously, winning the World Series here in 2008," Utley added. "Nothing is better than that. The way the city reacted to that team was truly special, something I will never forget. Going down Broad Street after winning the World Series was an amazing feeling. But ... it's time."
0 comments:
Post a Comment