12:58pm: Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail has details on the Phillies’ pursuit of Burnett. He says the Jays are scouting the Phils’ Double A club, and like Greg Golson, Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, and Brad Harman. It seems that Carrasco, Golson, or Marson would have to be in a deal. Blair says the Phillies might try to convince Burnett not to opt out of his contract so he can remain near his Baltimore home for the 2009-10 seasons.
Additionally, the Phillies inquired about Derek Lowe’s availability with the Dodgers.
11:46am: Pitching and hitting…two things you need to win baseball games. Insightful, eh? The Philles are looking for both – manager Charlie Manuel wants a "blue-chip pitcher" as well as a "good bat."
Pitching is the team’s priority. David Murphy bandies about names like A.J. Burnett, Roy Oswalt, and Erik Bedard. Or the Phillies could look to the B list, like they did last year when they acquired Kyle Lohse. Lohse, by the way, wasn’t a fan of the "B list" comment by Pat Gillick.
So who’s on the ’08 B list? I’ll suggest Bronson Arroyo, Joe Blanton, Boof Bonser, Greg Maddux, Randy Wolf, Jarrod Washburn, Odalis Perez, Jason Marquis, Tim Redding, and Paul Byrd. Most of these guys appeared on my June 4th look at the starting pitching market. I’ll try to revisit that list this afternoon with a fresh post.
On the hitting side, the Phillies don’t have an obvious position to upgrade. Thoughts?
