Youth and Movement: The Phillies Traded John McDonald… Oh, and Michael Young

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One of the most baffling things that happened with the Phillies this summer was their inability to move Michael Young at the trade deadline. The guy is 36, a free agent at the end of the year, and blocking somebody with any potential future in Philadelphia no matter where he plays on the diamond.

Well finally during the wee hours of your holiday weekend Ruben Amaro Jr. dumped Young at the last possible moment, like an action hero cutting the correct wire on a ticking time bomb with one second remaining. As first reported by FOX’s Ken Rosenthal, Young was shipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers just in time to make the infielder eligible for their postseason roster.

In return the Phillies obtained Rob Rasmussen a 24-year-old left-hander currently at Double-A. He was the 19th-ranked prospect in LA’s system per MLB.com.

Earlier during the weekend, Boston amazingly took John McDonald off the Phils’ hands as well. I’m sure Xander Bogaerts and Roger Clemens Circa 1986 were part of the haul. What’s that? A minor-league reliever? WE WERE ROBBED!

Hard to believe there were no takers for Casper Wells.

There’s really not much to say other than Amaro finally got a deal done, and now the kids can play. Can’t really complain about the return, either, since anybody literally would have taken anything for Young over getting nothing. The stopgap third baseman moves on, and so do Phillies fans as most are already looking ahead to the offseason.

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