MUST BE DREAMING: TEMPLE IS 9-2?
It’s a good problem to have. That’s the baseball cliché about too much pitching depth, and it suddenly applies to the Phillies after they acquired Cliff Lee on Wednesday. But it is a problem nonetheless—what will the Phils do about their overcrowded rotation?
Having improved the staff, the team must now decide which two of Pedro Martinez, J.A. Happ or Jamie Moyer belongs in the rotation, which of the three would be most likely to help in the bullpen, and whether to retain Rodrigo Lopez for a relief role.
The addition of Cliff Lee and impending arrival of Pedro Martinez (he makes his second rehabilitation start tomorrow in Lehigh Valley, and may need one more minor league appearance after that) creates a logjam in the rotation, of course. For at least one more start, J.A. Happ will remain one of the five.
Pitching coach Rich Dubee said that after Lee starts tomorrow, Joe Blanton will pitch Saturday and Cole Hamels Sunday. Following Monday’s off-day, Jamie Moyer will pitch Tuesday and Happ Wednesday. The team would not commit to a rotation beyond that point.
Rodrigo Lopez’s start tonight is likely his final one for the Phils, barring injury or a change in plans. The team could conceivably retain him as a reliever.
What do you think they should do?
A few quick items to pass along as I wait to board a flight. Tweeted this stuff, but hopefully some of you out there still spend a few minutes at a time away from your screens and handhelds.
--Gee, I always wondered why David Ortiz suddenly got awesome around, oh...2003. Shocker!
Two sources with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to the Inquirer that the Phillies have agreed to trade Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp to Cleveland for pitcher Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco. The deal is done pending a review of medical records, and could be announced shortly.
Lee, 30, the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner, is 7-9 this season with a 3.14 earned run average. Francisco, 28, is a righthanded hitting outfielder, batting .250 with 10 home runs this season. Francisco has pinch hit twice this season, going hitless in two at-bats.
The Phillies had long been engaged in talks with the Toronto Blue Jays to acquire pitcher Roy Halladay. But the Blue Jays asked for pitcher J.A. Happ and top prospects Kyle Drabek and Dominic Brown. Phils general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was able to acquire a former Cy Young Award winner without trading any of those players.
The most likely roster moves for the Phils would be to option John Mayberry Jr. to Triple-A, and demote a pitcher like Steven Register or Kyle Kendrick.
Here's a dispatch from Jim Salibury, up in Seattle. The Inquirer has the Western time zone covered for you this week.
Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi indicated that he's still in contact with the Phillies but they still haven't met his price for Halladay. ``We still need to be motivated and we haven't been motivated,'' said Ricciardi, who still maintains that he doesn't have to trade Halladay, who pitches tomorrow in Seattle.
I called Ben Badler, an editor at Baseball
First off, Gordon Edes of Yahoo, a terrific reporter, said today that the Red Sox have included Clay Buchholz in an offer to obtain Halladay. I asked Badler who he’d rather have between the two prospects. He said:
“I think it depends on who you talk to, but I’d prefer to have Buchholz. I see a more advanced repertoire, and he’s ever had the type of major arm surgery that Drabek has. You never know how that could catch up with him.”
Here was his take on some other guys. BA gets its information from scouts, managers, farm directors and coaches across the minor leagues. They updates their files constantly.
Carlos Carrasco: : "Some of Carrasco’s numbers are very good. He strikes out a batter per inning, he has walked about three per nine innings. He’s only 22 years old. He’s been very hittable this year, but that could just be luck. He has a low-90s fastball, and above-average change-up and a curveball that gets mixed reviews but shows flashes. This year has been a little bit disappointing for him.”
Lou Marson: “It is tough to know what to make of Marson. You always like to see players who control the strike zone like he does, but his power is limited. If Marson can develop power, that will determine his future. But even moderate power as a catcher would make him valuable. I wouldn’t predict above-average power for him. If he develops some power—and it’s hard at this point to say if he will—he will be an average player.”
Jason Donald: “It’s fair to say he’s been one of the most disappointing prospects in baseball this season. It seems to have fallen apart for Donald, and all of a sudden he’s a 24-year-old in Triple-A. His value has plunged this year.”
It should be noted, of course, that Donald and Marson have dealt with injuries this season. Also, I am aware that a report knocked down Edes' report. I don't know the specifics of this particular story, but I do know that Edes is rarely wrong.
The final version of my game story, where Jamie Moyer talks about an adjustment that he made before the fourth inning that reversed his night, is below. The game ended too late to get his quotes in the paper. For the previous blog post on Cliff Lee and other plan B options, click here. We'll keep plugging away at trade deadline stories and updates tomorrow.
Summary of the current status:
--Phillies and Jays are still actively talking, despite some reports that negotiations are breaking down. That's according to a person with direct knowledge of the process.
--Cleveland is scouting the Reading Phils, with a particular interest in Vance Worley.
--The Phillies have a long history of acquiring the Jayson Werth, the Shane Victorino, the Joe Blanton, the...Cliff Lee?
--The Phillies have acquired pitcher Roy Halladay for a package of J.A. Happ, Kyle Drabek and Dominic Brown.
Amid reports that the Phils-Jays talks are not going well—but keep in mind that the teams are mid-negotiation and their dynamic could very easily change soon—I’m hearing more about Phils-Indians. Baseball sources say that Cleveland will send scouts to watch the Reading Phillies tonight and for the next several nights, demonstrating that a Cliff Lee-to-Phils deal remains a possibility.
Bottom line: They still want the horse. I'm not saying that a Lee or Washburn deal is likely, or even close. I am saying that Phils continue to consider all possibilities.
There have been numerous reports on the back-and-forth between the Phils and Jays, enough to make your head spin. So here is what we know right now:
--The Phillies’ strong preference is to acquire Halladay, but they were expected to send superscout Charley Kerfeld to watch 2008 American League Cy Young Award Winner Cliff Lee pitch for
Baseball sources indicate that the Phillies might be able to pry Lee away from Cleveland with a package of second-tier prospects like Carlos Carrasco and Jason Donald (by second-tier, I mean not phenoms like Kyle Drabek and Dominic Brown).
--The Phillies are highly reluctant to surrender both Drabek and J.A. Happ. Outfield prospects Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown have been mentioned as possible pieces in a deal, and both teams believe that Brown has more potential than
--The entire Phillies front office will be on a plane to Arizona tonight to discuss these issues. They typically only travel with one executive, but trade deadline week is a wild one. Stay tuned.
Well, here it is, the Blue Jays asking price for Roy Halladay: Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has spoken to the Phillies within the past 24 hours and negotiations are underway in earnest, baseball sources tell the Inquirer. They want Kyle Drabek, J.A. Happ and Dominic Brown.
That's what they've asked for. It remains to be seen how the Phils will respond to that. Keep in mind that in a negotiating process, offers evolve; this would not necessarily be the deal, if one is done. The Phils could counter with something entirely different.
When Charlie Manuel said yesterday “I prefer the horse,” the horse had a name: Halladay. As the Phillies and Blue Jays negotiate, figuring out who to include or not in a potential trade, there is a buzz around the clubhouse. Phillies players have pulled me aside, asking, “Hey, off the record, are we going to get Doc? What will we have to give up?
