The Phillies rebuild is underway, but will move a lot slower if the players keep not wanting to be traded to the Mets.
Look, I'm all for trading away even the longer tenured players who we treasure. I personally wouldn't have a problem watching Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, or anybody play out their remaining years somewhere else, charming some other city, then returning for their induction to the Wall of Fame and remaining deeply ingrained in the franchise for years to come.
Except if it was to the Braves, or Nationals, Mets. Or Giants or Dodgers or Cardinals. Or Yankees. Or Red Sox.
As you can see, I've remained open minded about this rebuild. Jimmy Rollins has not, according to ESPN New York:
"The Mets, in need of a shortstop, spoke with the Philadelphia Phillies about acquiring Jimmy Rollins in a trade, sources told ESPNNewYork.com. The pursuit since has been dismissed because Rollins does not want to leave Philadelphia, a source added."
Now, there's the part of me that loves this and thinks "Ha ha ha, Jimmy hates the Mets as much as we do, that's great, suck it Mets."
But we're not really at that point anymore. If the Phillies are trying to make moves, and their big pieces with their 10-5 rights are refusing to budge, well, then, that's a unique Phillies Rebuild problem we get to have. And the Mets have some talent in the minors that's ready for Major League action (BP ranked them 8th this season for their farm system). Even my childlike emotions about what teams we trade players to could be put aside for a decent trade that acquires young talent.
C'MON, IT'S NOVEMBER! ARE WE REBUILT YET?!?