Amaro: Phils will consider dealing off big league roster
Ruben Amaro Jr. had a few interesting things to say earlier this evening as he addressed the Phillies' search for pitching and infield depth.
Amaro: Phils will consider dealing off big league roster
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Ruben Amaro Jr. had a few interesting things to say earlier this evening as he addressed the Phillies' search for pitching and infield depth.
First, he said that he would consider dealing a player off of his big league roster if he felt it would upgrade the overall competitiveness of the club.
"Obviously I don't want to weaken my club," Amaro said, "but if I have to weaken one area to strengthen another, I might do that."
Second, he said that Domonic Brown has played his way into consideration for a promotion at some point this season, although he stressed that the top prospect's 12 games at Triple-A are still too few to render a judgment on his readiness for the big leagues.
"The players dictate their progress, and he's dictating it," Amaro said.
Those two statements are related, of course. The Phillies two most tradeable quantities, at least when it comes to the starting line-up, are outfielders. Right fielder Jayson Werth will be a free agent after the season, and thus far the two sides have not come close to reaching an agreement on a contract extension. Center fielder Shane Victorino, meanwhile, is signed to a three-year, $22 million contract that runs through the 2012 season. Veteran left fielder Raul Ibanez likely would not attract much attention, given his contract (the Phillies owe him $11.5 million next season) and the decline in power numbers he has experienced this season.
Brown plays right field, but Werth can play center field as well, which is why moving Victorino would still leave the Phillies with some flexibility.
Amaro declined to address any specific names, either on his own roster or that of another major league team.
But the Phillies are looking for a pitcher to bolster their rotation and an infielder to fill the void left by Chase Utley at second base. If he had to choose one, Amaro said he would choose a pitcher. The Phillies are also open to adding a bullpen arm, but their top priority is a starter.
Of course, they had a starter back in December. His name was Cliff Lee, and they traded him to Seattle citing the need to replenish the farm system. Amaro said he does not regret the move.
"If we had Cliff Lee, we wouldn't have Roy Halladay," Amaro said.
But if they can trade for a pitcher now, why couldn't they have kept both Lee and Halladay?
"Time and circumstance dictates some of the things you can and cannot do," Amaro said. "We just felt like we were in a position to be able to hold one guy and not to hold the other guy. We had to put ourselves in a position not to leave our club and our organization with the cupboard bare. By moving all of this talent from our organization, it just made it very difficult to continue to be able to do business long term. "
Agents must love Ruben.— Steve Jeltz- PS, Drabek threw a no-hitter in the minors in his last start. Lee + Drabek is better than Doc. It just is. It's a dynasty killing trade.— Steve Jeltz
- Pat Gillick is still involved with this team and you can bet that he still has a big influence on all major personnel moves. I am sure that RAJ leans on him a lot, so be careful with assigning blame. This 2010 Phillies team was constructed to be a strong contender to return to the WS and for the first two months of the season their performance reflected this (even with the injuries). Credit the GM and his staff for this. Since then, unusually high numbers of injured players and the prolonged offense slump are killing this team. Is a GM expected to plan for extremes like these? If it was one or the other this team would most likely still be in first place.— Beck
- Pat Gillick is still involved with this team and you can bet that he still has a big influence on all major personnel moves. I am sure that RAJ leans on him a lot, so be careful with assigning blame. This 2010 Phillies team was constructed to be a strong contender to return to the WS and for the first two months of the season their performance reflected this (even with the injuries). Credit the GM and his staff for this. Since then, unusually high numbers of injured players and the prolonged offense slump are killing this team. Is a GM expected to plan for extremes like these? If it was one or the other this team would most likely still be in first place.— Beck
- Get over it. Cliff was not going to sign here. Also, for whoever said the 2 first round picks from a college may be closer to the big leagues than the three they got from Seattle for Lee, when was the last time the Phillies drafted an impact college player in the first round? I believe that was Utley under Wade's regime.— EL Zorro
- Of course Lee was about money and ONLY money. Amaro lied and said it was about the future. BS. We all knew it. 2nd rate prospects don't equate to building or the future. He gambled that the team would win and no one would care about Lee. Oops. The team is dead and he will be going from genius to ESPN. Don't look for sellouts in "11.— abnrgr
- Victorino and Hamels for Cliff Lee and Chone Finnins?— patrickstar
- We'll never know the true story behind the Lee deal, because the "prospects" justification just doesn't make any sense given that we would've received 2 first-round picks as compensation for losing him as a FA. Has anyone actually asked Amaro about why not just risk losing Lee as a FA and take the 2 picks?— mattesq
- @mattesq: 1st round picks are valued less than actual prospects in baseball. Personally, I'd rather get 3 prospects than 2 first round picks too. Unfortunately for Reuben, the 3 prospects stink. I personally was not against trading Lee, especially because our system was so depleted, but the 3 prospects we recieved from Seattle aren't even amongst the top 10 prospects we have in our system at this present time.— Chewey
Comment removed.- Only the Red Sox selling Babe Ruth to the Yanks for a fistful of wampum was a bigger blunder than the Phils giving away Cliff Lee to the Mariners for prospects of unproven value. Especially puzzling is the trade being made by a GM whose mantra has always been "you can never have enough pitching." Also puzzling is why the Phils didn't pair Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee until the wee hours of the dynasty by simply non-tendering, instead of extending, Joe Blanton. The question is what the Phils do now to supplement a core rotation of Halladay, Hamels and Moyer. Blanton is questionable as a viable second half option; Kendrick's youth makes him vulnerable; and Happ's recovery is uncertain. The Phils need pitching help, and the kind of help that can team with Halladay and Hamels to get the Phils through another world series. The Phils could reacquire Lee, possibly straight up for Jason Werth - one free agent for another, especially if they are willing to add a few prospects for Jose Lopez whose salary the Mariners want to shed. This would make sense only if the Phils are willing and able to resign Lee long-term. If Werth were dealt, Brown could be called up. If Lopez was not a part of the deal, the Phils could acquire Wigginton or Tejada from the Orioles for prospects. Alternatively, the Phils could take advantage of Manuel's friendship with the guy and acquire Carlos Zambrano from the Cubs. In fact, the Phils would probably be able to acquire Zambrano and Soriano from the Cubs for Werth and prospects and have the Cubs pay most of Zambrano and Soriano's large remaining salaries. According to the press, the Cubs might be trying to get rid of the two, and with a change of scenery, both players could significantly help the Phils for years to come. Soriano can also play 2B. I'm not sure how much or how long Oswalt or Haren would be able to help the Phils. Even Jamie Moyer has an expiration date, so any acquisitions the Phils make should be done with an eye on the future.
- Rube "restocked the cupboard" with government Peanut Butter, Ramen Noodles, and Spaghetti-O's.— JofreyRice
- WOW onthebucks you are truely an idoit....Babe Ruth and cliff lee are not even close and we would not be able to keep Lee after the year anyway so the 2 trades are not even comparable....if werth gets traded like all of u want u will call raj the worst GM ever-i want to see all of u on this when the phils r in the world series sayying how good they r and how u never doubted them...Hypocrites— Phillies Freak
- Trade Werth and Moyer for Lee. Then get rid of most of the bullpen and see if you can get a bag of used balls for them. There is no passion in that relief staff and it shows.— Jhunchar
- Hmmmmmm?????????? Shane trade bait and Werth to Center????????? Nope. after thinking about it, I'd rather have Shane in Center and Move Werth to Left.— Philly4fanDoc
