Quick Hits: Phillies, Ruiz, Hamels, Royals, Padres, Price

Here are the latest trade deadline news and rumors from around the game …

• Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says that the club’s next ten games will help decide how the club navigates the trade deadline, per an interview transcript from Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News. “We’ve been assessing this thing and will continue to do so all the way through this month,” he said. Amaro said that he has had “tons” of conversations, mostly to feel out needs, and that his focus is on improving the club’s production at the plate. “On our side, we’re looking for some offense, we’re looking for some younger players, we’re looking for some things that can help us short term and long term,” said Amaro. “As far as the other teams are concerned, some of them know exactly what they want, but most of them don’t. I mean, there’s still a lot of time. A lot of injuries can happen, there’s a lot of different things that can happen with some of these teams moving forward.” In terms of the club’s timeline, Amaro reiterated that he is not interested in a complete tear-down, but said that, “if we have to go a step backward for a year or two to move forward then that’s what we’ll try to do.”
• One theoretically possible Phillies trade chip — catcher Carlos Ruiz — has suffered a concussion that Amaro calls “a little more serious than we originally thought,” as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Since signing a three-year, $26MM deal in the offseason, the 35-year-old has produced a .257/.33/.357 triple-slash through 273 plate appearances.
• It remains to be seen whether or not Phillies starter Cole Hamels is shopped at all. But if he is, the Blue Jays would only be able to acquire him if he waived his no-trade protection, as they are one of the teams on his list, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
• Rival officials are skeptical that the Royals have freedom to add payroll, tweets Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. GM Dayton Moore has indicated that the club would be able to take on salary to bolster the roster for a postseason push.
• The Padres have fielded trade interest in outfielders Seth Smith and Chris Denorfia, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Nevertheless, the club’s most asked-about pieces to date have been back-end relievers Huston Street and Joaquin Benoit.
• Heyman also reports that the Rays have set a high asking price for David Price in discussions with the Dodgers, with Tampa seeking multiple elite prospects. Heyman argues that giving up more than one of the club’s five best youngsters — he includes Corey Seager, Joc Pederson, Julio Urias, Chris Anderson, and Zach Lee — would be a mistake for Los Angeles.