Phillies Rumors

Sherman On Phillies, Rockies, Marlins

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 24, 2009 at 8:32am CDT

Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains how Jason Marquis and Ryan Spilborghs almost became Phillies and names a dangerous NL East team:

A few weeks ago the Phillies and Rockies seriously discussed a deal that would have sent Marquis and Spilborghs to the Phillies for J.A. Happ and prospects.
The Phillies would have acquired an innings eater and a righty bat, while the Rockies would have shed payroll and acquired young talent.
The Rockies began an extended hot streak after the trade talks began, so they decided not to make the deal.
Colorado is now quietly in search of a veteran reliever.
Some believe the Marlins are a threat to win the NL East because of their talented young rotation.
Sherman reminds us that the Marlins have "one of the most aggressive, successful front offices in the majors."

Phillies Still Want Pitching; Few Arms Available

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 23, 2009 at 9:34am CDT

David Murphy and Rich Hoffman, both of the Philadelphia Daily News, believe the Phillies need pitching. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. seems to agree with them. But, as Scott Lauber of the News Journal reports, there's very little pitching available.

"No one's out there dealing anybody or wanting to part with anybody because the pitchers who are available are one, hurt, and two, pitching for teams that don't think they're out of the race yet," Amaro said. "I know because I've asked about every one of them."

Starting pitching remains Amaro's "main focus" even though pitchers who were expected to be available like Jake Peavy, Erik Bedard, Jason Marquis, Brad Penny, Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo are either contributing to pennant races or injured.

Heyman: Ten Teams That Could Add Payroll

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 22, 2009 at 12:54pm CDT

Jon Heyman of SI.com provides a list of ten teams that could add payroll. He adds the Angels, Brewers, Red Sox and Brewers to the list we assembled last week. Here are his ten teams:

The Red Sox could add payroll, but they don't have significant needs.
The Mets could add payroll and they need a hitter who can play first, the outfield, or both.
The Phillies could add payroll to acquire pitching.
The Angels, with several contracts expiring this year (Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey, Chone Figgins), could add salary.
The Giants could take on payroll to add a bat.
The Brewers and Cardinals could both free up money to add a pitcher or hitter.
The Tigers, White Sox and Dodgers round out Heyman's list, but he warns us not to rule out the Yankees.
Don't look for the White Sox to deal prospects away to increase their playoff chances, even though they trail the Tigers by just 5.0 games.
On another note, no one's called the Mariners about Adrian Beltre.

Odds And Ends: Webb, Doumit, Blanks

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 19, 2009 at 10:53am CDT

Links for Friday morning…

Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News argues the Phillies should declare prospect Michael Taylor off-limits.
Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post says the 2009 Rockies are nothing like the version that stunned us with a late-season surge two Septembers ago.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues the Nationals need to fire Manny Acta or assure him that he'll manage all season.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says Brandon Webb had a setback and could miss the entire year.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders whether the Pirates have considered moving Ryan Doumit to first base or right field when he returns.
The Padres called up their top prospect, Kyle Blanks, according to Baseball America's John Manuel.
Ben Klayman and Megan Davies of Reuters report that the Ricketts family has a rival in its bid to buy the Cubs, as an old bidder is again involved.

Don’t Expect Phillies to Pick Up a Bat

By Howard Megdal | June 18, 2009 at 5:53pm CDT

There are two factors working against the Philadelphia Phillies picking up a bat, even with Raul Ibanez sidelined with a groin injury, Jimmy Rollins languishing in the low .200s, and a three-game sweep by the Blue Jays now complete.

First is that the Phils may have that replacement bat during Ibanez's recovery in John Mayberry Jr., who homered Thursday afternoon. Mayberry posted an .808 OPS during 210 Triple-A plate appearances in 2009, suggesting he can be an adequate bat in Ibanez's absence.

But the bigger issue is the Phillies will need to save their prospects for a deal or deals for arms. Joe Blanton, after Thursday's start, has a 5.28 ERA. Considering he is Philadelphia's de facto number two starter, that won't get it done.

Worse still is the bullpen situation. Brad Lidge is sidelined with a knee injury, and now Ryan Madson, who had been dominant, has hit a rough patch at exactly the wrong time, blowing up in two of the three games against Toronto.

So which should be the priority right now for Philadelphia: starter or reliever?

Teams Willing To Add Payroll

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 18, 2009 at 4:27pm CDT

Deep-pocketed teams like the Cubs and Yankees say they'll have trouble adding salary this year, and they're far from the only ones. Here's a quick list of teams that could add payroll:

Mike Ilitch's Red Wings just made it to the Stanley Cup final and he says the Tigers can add salary if it'll make them winners, too.
Earlier in the week we heard that the Phillies can take on payroll.
The Cardinals are in a position to add salary as well.
The Dodgers are spending $2.7MM less than expected this year because of the Manny Ramirez suspension. This could give them the flexibility to take on a contract.
The White Sox would have taken on payroll in the failed Jake Peavy trade.
The Mets have about $5MM in payroll flexibility.

Add any teams I've missed in the comments and we can flesh this list out.

Odds And Ends: Yankees, Cubs, Red Sox

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 18, 2009 at 1:18pm CDT

Pitching Market May Mean Phils Add To ‘Pen

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 18, 2009 at 10:01am CDT

It's still possible that the Phillies will add the top starter Charlie Manuel covets, but the weak market for starting pitching could force them to improve their bullpen instead, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. With Erik Bedard and Jake Peavy on the disabled list, there's a shortage of top starters available. The Phillies are watching Brad Penny, who, along with Jarrod Washburn, may be the best starter available.

But pitchers such as Jason Marquis, Zach Duke and Paul Maholm "don't excite" the Phillies, so they may look to improve their pitching by adding a reliever, even though it's not their first choice.

Brad Penny Rumors

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 18, 2009 at 9:39am CDT

Brad Penny pitched well enough to win his 100th career game last night. Today, he’s the subject of many trade rumors. Here they are:

David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News reports that the Phillies had a scout in Boston watching Penny’s start last night.
The Rangers appear interested as well, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports.
Cafardo heard from one NL scout who believes Penny is “the best name out there” for teams in search of starters.
The Red Sox have fielded offers on Penny but they value their depth and may not make a move.
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says Penny was throwing as hard as 98 mph.
Penny would prefer to pitch every fifth day, but he’s open to pitching in a six-man rotation, according to Don Amore of the Hartford Courant.

Manuel Wants Arms for Phillies

By Eddie Schmid | June 17, 2009 at 7:40pm CDT

Scott Lauber at the Delaware News-Journal got a hold of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and asked if the manager would rather obtain a starter or a reliever. Manuel says he wants both, but would probably prefer a starter.

"But what I'm talking about is a horse. I'm not talking about a guy who's just going to fill out our rotation," Manuel said.

Lauber surmises that Manuel wants a Jake Peavy or Roy Oswalt-type, though Peavy is hurt and probably isn't an option, and the Astros aren't completely out of it just yet. Do the Phillies need a bullpen or rotation arm more? Or something else? Who should they go after?

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