After ESPN’s Buster Olney reported the Phillies were open to trade offers for right-hander Zack Wheeler, the logical response from the club would have been what virtually every other team says when similar news becomes public: We’re not shopping the player. We value him highly. But it would be irresponsible for us not to listen.
Instead, Phillies manager general partner John Middleton reacted as if Olney had suggested the team was peddling the Liberty Bell, saying of Wheeler, “If they offered me Babe Ruth, I wouldn’t trade him.” Fair enough, considering Ruth is not exactly available. But sources confirm the Phillies indeed were talking quietly with clubs about Wheeler, whom they signed last offseason to a five-year, $118 million free-agent contract.
So, why the vehemence from Middleton?
Perhaps the owner did not know of the Wheeler discussions and was upset to learn of them from ESPN, particularly when he has given his front…
