At general manager meetings, Amaro looking to upgrade bullpen

ORLANDO - In recent years, the Phillies have found baseball's general manager meetings to be as fruitful as the orange groves in Central Florida.

Former Phillies general manager Pat Gillick struck a deal with the Houston Astros in 2007 for closer Brad Lidge, and last year current Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. used this forum to lay the groundwork for the deal that landed 2010 Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay in Philadelphia.

After arriving Monday morning and spending most of Tuesday in meetings with his peers discussing the collective-bargaining agreement that expires after next season, Amaro indicated that the process of piecing together the 2011 Phillies could be a bit slower than usual.

"I have a sneaking suspicion that it may take a little longer this time because there may be some guys out there in January or even into February who might be able to help us," Amaro said. "I just have a feeling that sometimes patience pays off and, in this case and this year, it may very well even though I'm not a very patient person."

The general manager made it clear that his top priority is upgrading the bullpen because he felt that was the area in which the World Series champion San Francisco Giants had a distinct advantage over the Phillies.

"Pitching always wins," Amaro said. "A perfect example was this year with San Francisco winning the World Series. I thought they had a deeper bullpen and a more balanced bullpen. I would say the bullpen remains probably the top priority."

Three spots in the Phillies' bullpen are secure, with Jose Contreras and setup man Ryan Madson expected to be the bridge to closer Brad Lidge. After that, however, there is massive uncertainty.

The Phillies owe Danys Baez $2.75 million for next season, but they certainly cannot count on him based on what he did in 2010. Lefthander J.C. Romero will not return, and Amaro made it sound as if free-agent Chad Durbin's return was questionable at best.

"That's still a possibility," Amaro said.

Asked about negotiations with Durbin, Amaro gave a terse "No comment." He repeated that answer when asked if he wanted to bring Durbin back.

Told that his "no comments" may be read as disinterest in Durbin, Amaro said, "I don't care how they read it. That's part of the process here. I can't comment on any of the free agents, including my own."

There have been reports that two free-agent lefthanders who were with the New York Mets last season - Hisanori Takahashi and Pedro Feliciano - have drawn the Phillies' interest. Amaro said he was not expecting a free-agent signing any time in the near future.

"We've had some more specific discussions with some free agents, but as far as us waiting on a shoe to drop, no, not really," he said.

Amaro's "own" list of free agents, of course, is headed by rightfielder Jayson Werth, whose agent Scott Boras is at the meetings. Amaro admitted that "it has been a while" since he had a conversation with Boras. He said he was not sure if he would talk to Boras about Werth at these meetings.

Told that Boras has said the Phillies can most certainly afford to sign Werth, Amaro said, "I'm glad he knows our payroll."

Speaking of payroll, Amaro said he does not know what the financial parameters for 2011 will be. With the signing of Contreras on Monday, the payroll is at $149 million for 17 players. That does not include $11 million the Phillies received in the Roy Oswalt deal with Houston at the trade deadline.

"We have not had that discussion yet," Amaro said. "There is a limit to everything. I've said this before: We don't have an unlimited situation. But it's the support that we have from our fans that has allowed us to get to this point. As I've said before, if I can't put a championship-caliber club on the field with this kind of payroll that we're at right now, then I'm not doing a very good job."

Amaro said he has had some preliminary trade talks and did not rule out adding a righthanded bat or relief help in that manner.

"I can't really comment on the closeness, but I can tell you we've had a lot of dialogue with several other clubs trying to address some of our needs," he said.

The Phillies, on the other hand, do not seem to be engaged in the pursuit of Cliff Lee, the grand pitching prize on this free-agent market. Amaro did not speak specifically about Lee, but was asked if the team was interested in any big-name pitchers.

"That's not really one of our priorities," he said.

That does not mean Amaro will shy away from adding a lesser starting pitcher to compete with Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley for the fifth spot in the starting rotation.

"Would I feel comfortable going into the season with what we have? Yes," Amaro said. "With that said, I think there is going to be a competition for that fifth spot and I'm hopeful to add a little more depth so we can create some competition there."