Phillies GM Pat Gillick swung by the Blue Jays’ camp yesterday to talk some baseball with J.P. Ricciardi. The Globe and Mail’s Jeff Blair writes that the Phils like Alex Rios and Dustin McGowan and are trying to trade Jon Lieber. Reed Johnson could be a more reasonable bounty for Lieber.
As Blair says, the Jays want to see what they’ve got first. And I’m not sure why the Phillies would be actively trying to acquire an outfielder with Burrell, Rowand, and Victorino under contract. That looks like a decent outfield to me. The Phillies are weak in the bullpen.
If the Jays are to part with Rios, a star in the making, they need a frontline starter. They were asking for quite a bit back in January – Brett Myers or Chad Billingsley and then some. A month before that, Buster Olney first mentioned that Rios could be available for Brad Penny or Joe Blanton.
The only name I’ve heard here that really makes sense is Myers, and the Phils probably didn’t just sign him with the intent of trading him. Billingsley would certainly be a nice return for Toronto, but the Dodgers don’t need Rios.
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