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Phillies Prioritizing Starting Pitching Depth
The Phillies are prioritizing starting pitching depth this trade deadline, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter). They are looking to add a middle-of-the-rotation starter, probably someone better than Jeremy Guthrie. Few available starters short of Cliff Lee- the Phillies' biggest 2009 acquisition- and Roy Oswalt are definitively better than Guthrie, but arms like Fausto Carmona, Edwin Jackson and Brett Myers could be fits - at least in theory.
It seems unlikely that the D'Backs would trade Jackson in the near future, since he no-hit the Rays over the weekend. Myers is having an excellent season in Houston, but there's no guarantee that Ruben Amaro Jr. would be interested in bringing him back to Philadelphia so soon after the sides parted ways.
Another former Phillie, Pedro Martinez, plans to pitch in 2010, but he wouldn't be ready for major league action without weeks in the minor leagues. The Phillies maintain that they're not close to bringing Pedro back.
Roy Halladay has been one of the best pitchers in the National League, Cole Hamels has pitched well, though he has been homer-prone and Jamie Moyer has been reliable. Joe Blanton pitched well against the Twins and Indians in his last two starts, but he and Kyle Kendrick have been Charlie Manuel's least reliable starters in 2010.
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