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Phillies Notes: Trades, Pierre, Willis, Playoffs

The Phillies won a franchise-record 102 games last season, but were denied a World Series berth by the now-champion Cardinals. This offseason, they re-signed Jimmy Rollins, extended Kyle Kendrick, and added Jonathan Papelbon, Jim Thome, Laynce Nix, and Dontrelle Willis to bolster their bench and bullpen. Here's the latest on the defending NL East Champions...

• GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and assistant GM Benny Looper are well aware that trades they've made to acquire Roy Halladay, Hunter Pence, and others will eventually be painful, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Amaro and Looper both discuss how difficult it was to part ways with players like Travis d'Arnaud and Anthony Gose. Amaro didn't deny the November report that he attempted to re-acquire D'Arnaud.
• The Phillies are the only team who reached out to Juan Pierre this offseason, the outfielder told the Miami Herald's Manny Navarro. Pierre inked a minor league deal back in January.
• In the same piece, Navarro writes that Willis and Pierre are happy to be in camp together. The pair won a World Series together with the Marlins in 2003, and have remained very close friends since. Pierre is the godfather of all three of Willis' daughters, and the two refer to each other as "brothers." Willis also noted that the Marlins have shown interest in him again since trading him.
• Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Halladay isn't a big fan of the extended playoffs. Halladay doesn't like the concept of opening a five-game series with two road games, nor does he like the thought of a 162-game season coming down to one game.
• Freddy Galvis is working out at second base and third base with the hopes of making the big league team as a utility infielder now that Rollins has re-signed, according to the Inquirer's Matt Gelb.

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