A trade could be near
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A trade could be near
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
ST. LOUIS — Ruben Amaro Jr. wore one of those patented smug looks on his face. The Phillies general manager had just demoted his fifth starter without listing a replacement in the rotation for him.
“I think we know exactly what we're going to do,” Amaro said. “I just choose not to tell you.”
Well then.
The Phillies sent righthander Kyle Kendrick to triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, a day after he allowed seven runs in five innings to the Cardinals. In his place, righthander Andrew Carpenter was recalled. Carpenter, normally a starter, will serve as an extra arm in the bullpen.
Amaro said Kendrick’s spot could be filled by someone from within the organization, like J.A. Happ. But Happ started for Lehigh Valley on Tuesday and it would be hard seeing him make his return to the majors on short rest Saturday. Amaro said no one other than Carpenter, Happ or Nelson Figueroa, who was recently designated for assignment and has yet to pass through waivers, is considered an internal candidate.
That means a trade could be imminent. Amaro did nothing to dissuade that notion, saying Saturday’s starter could come from outside the organization.
“We have other balls in the air,” Amaro said.
Those, presumably, are the names bandied about in the rumor mills over the last month. The Phillies have reportedly scouted Oakland pitcher Ben Sheets with two different scouts in the last month. Sheets pitched Tuesday for the A’s and would be in line to start Saturday.
Houston’s Roy Oswalt and Arizona’s Dan Haren are at the top of the list of available pitchers, but both could cost top prospect Domonic Brown, a deal the Phillies would not complete. They made sure to not include Brown in the Roy Halladay trade during the off-season.
Baltimore’s Jeremy Guthrie, Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook along with Chicago’s Ted Lilly are other pitchers reportedly on the market.
Whomever the Phillies have in mind, Amaro appears to be confident in something happening — even if he won’t let on. When asked if he is optimistic a deal could be completed
“Not necessarily,” Amaro said. “But I like to think we can do something to improve the club.”
Read Wednesday's Inquirer for more...
Comments (56)
Typical smug arrogant King Ruben. Unless you get Lee back Rube any trade will be useless. Way to kill our team Rube.— Bob65S- Stop with the Lee!!! Hes gone, get over it. People are so obsessed. Oswalt or Haren would be just as good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— peteymoney
RAJ went from hero to zero faster than anyone in the history of Philadelphia. The first Cliff Lee trade was brilliant while the second was punching the fans in the gut. I don't blame you RAJ. You were just taking the fall for the owners. The ingrates around here zero ability to comprehend.- Would be nice to give Blanton back to Oakland for Sheets, but A's wouldn't do it.— P Even
- the bullpen signings for example haven't been inspired. so one good deal (lee) isn't going to negate all the bad signings. sorry.— liberty_bell
- You're and idiot Bob— jaydes
- Baez nad Contreras are also Rube's legacy. So if we give up our only proven right bat Werth and bring up Brown another lefty who has never faced Major leugue pitching how does that help us???? How does that help us arrogant Ruben? Know it all Ruben?— Bob65S
- Mr Montgomery who hides and never shows his face when things go to s--t is also to blame!— Bob65S
- Hey, we all know that the ownership tied Ruben's hands. They made him choose between Lee or Halladay. Of course Amaro would have liked to have them both! Just do a sign and trade with Werth + other prospects other than Brown to get a bona fide starter.— ol duke
- Hey ol duke- this is NOT THE NBA - one does not do a Sign and Trade with Werth, you just trade him— davi
- I wish the Phils still had Lee too, but when does it get old? He's NOT coming back...let it go!— erbower
This team seems to need more than just one starter. They need at least 2 starters and some infield help. Valdez is a .220 hitter and boy do they miss Chase. The bench stinks too.- To the geniuses who want Ben Sheets: 4.53 ERA this year. Oh, you think Dan Haren is better? 4.60 ERA. Roy Oswalt (3.12 era) is who you want, as long as he stays healthy (bruised ankle - always seems hurt) and we don't have to give up much (unless Wade takes lower-level talent, forget it). Enjoy a long season, fellas.— PhilCali
- If they trade for a starting pitcher it will admit a couple things: 1) trading Lee was a mistake @) by extension, signing Moyer for two years (basically at Lee's salary for this year) was a mistake. Blanton may still turn it around, he's been a decent pitcher most of this time here (Moyer may be out of gas but you never know). Baez is a definitive bust. there's another pitcher no one talks about that met most of rube's criteria but they didn't sign...Brett Myers. He's got a 3.3 ERA— dreinterests
Comment removed.- Haren would be an innings eater. And he has been an effective pitcher most years and is signed on unto 2012 with a 2013 club option, but him and Oswalt are pretty expensive and will cost Dom Brown and a few more prospects. Sheets they probably can get straight up for a trade of Werth if no one else gets him first.— wolfburn
- bag o cheese - thank you for saying something intelligent. lee move was forced by ownership who was not prepared to take on a yankee-esce payroll. underachieving and injuries are the biggest issue, just look at werth. all part of the game. thats why a NL team hasnt won 3 pennants in a row since our country were fighting not to speak german— sore richard
Could you imagine Haren, Halladay and Hamels? I don't think Chooch could handle that many strikeouts!- Ruben Amaro has morphed into Ed Wade before our eyes...— Dr. Michael
- wolfburn...why would the A's trade for Werth? He has absolutely zero value to them. They acquire veteran players in the offseason to make in-season deals for prospects. Werth is not that so why would they deal Sheets for Werth? it would be of no value to their mindset. Dr. Michael...was Ed Wade really that bad of a GM? I believe he oversaw the development of the team in the late 90's, when the current core of this team (Rollings, Utley, Howard, Hamels, Myers, etc.) were drafted and developed. He may not have pulled off the blockbuster deals that people like seeing but he also didn't cripple the organization with horrible trades---much like hero Paul Owens did in the early 80's.— Eilex826
- wolfburn...why would the A's trade for Werth? He has absolutely zero value to them. They acquire veteran players in the offseason to make in-season deals for prospects. Werth is not that so why would they deal Sheets for Werth? it would be of no value to their mindset. Dr. Michael...was Ed Wade really that bad of a GM? I believe he oversaw the development of the team in the late 90's, when the current core of this team (Rollings, Utley, Howard, Hamels, Myers, etc.) were drafted and developed. He may not have pulled off the blockbuster deals that people like seeing but he also didn't cripple the organization with horrible trades---much like hero Paul Owens did in the early 80's.— Eilex826
- PAT! DO SOMETHING! STEP IN AND PICK SOME NO NAME OF THE GARBAGE HEAP! HELP US GILLIE WON KENOBI, YOU'RE OUR ONLY HOPE!— ChampAnderson
- May be next year. Birds training camp begins soon!— chickletonian
- RAJ wore one of those patented smug looks on his face that he has become known for- - - - It's called pomposity, and it's one of the reasons why he's so disliked in this town.— PhightinPhil
- The corner outfielders are killing them, this pitching staff only works if you're scoring eight runs a game and even then Lidge can blow it. (I attended the 13-10 Twins debacle.) I was hoping they would look at it as a challenge to hold the fort till Utley gets back, but that looks like a long shot too.— eaglescali
- The thrill is gone. This year was supposed to be special and it has been anything but.— vejjev
- It's amazing how quickly this team has become virtually unwatchable. No hitting, poor baserunning, bad decisions and a complete lack of the will to compete....let alone win. I don't care who they trade for, until JRoll excerts some leadership by making a bold public statement and then backing it up on the field, nothing is going to change.— dri_as_a_bone
- Brett Myers....back in Phillies uniform...book it— GAphil
- With Moyer injured, it doesn't bode well for the squad. Suddenly, Kendrick is looking like a viable option again. Amaro's trade calls to other GMs will be met with derisive laughter. This is one pathetic season.— apreziosi
BREAKING NEWS .... Raul is 0-4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— shawnmac- Starting pitching has not been that bad for better part of the season. Any sort of production from Werth, Victorino, and Ibanez and this team is ten games better at least. Rollins gets a pass due to injury, but not much longer— eisenser
- No Sheets pls. Dumping the KK yet adding Sheets must be some type of Civil Rights violation. Pkease look it up RAJ.— mick314
- Combine 3 NL divisions into 1 league, phils are 9th of 15 teams. this is not a great team. Anyone expecting playoffs would lose to Charlie manuel in Jeopardy! Anyone expecting playoffs makes sarah Palin look like a Rhodes scholar.— carolina rasputin
- Starting pitching is going to help this team! We have a .255 batting average, need I say more! Oh yeah and that probably went down tonight.— FLealglesfan
- bag o ... fans of losing teams will keep interested by talking about moves to get better, and calling out moves that turned out wrong...that's certainly better business than people just tuning out altogether...— BySaam
- Cliff Lee was the worse trade in years. Amaro will regret this trade Lee wins both games in a world series and Mr. know it all dumps the guy while he's out hunting. Cliff Lee is the best picher in baseball and the Philadelphia fans loved him. The day I heard about the trade I knew the Phills were finished. It had to have a negative effect on the other players their thinking I better watch my back with this guy.— philly27
- Ruben says they have balls in the air. They sure aren't between their legs.— dasher
- It needs to be a massive trade that clears out the deadwood (bats with no contact or power), starting with Werth and Ibanez, and probably including Victorino and Rollins. then dump worthless Madson and Baez and bring back Nelson Fig. Poor Polanco thought he was coming back to a winning team only to find they had cashed it in. I would build around Utley, Polanco, Howard, Ruiz and Halliday. All the others are expendable at this point. (Two thoughts haunt me, that they probably were reading signs when they got caught since they certainly can't seem to read a pitch since then; and I still wonder if a large group of this team are jealous about Howard's contract and are sitting back making him carry the team. It's also time for Charlie to join the growing number of over the hill managers and retire.— atp2007
- Buyers Or Sellers, That's What Any Club Must Decide Before The Trading Deadline .... Most Clubs Make Up Their Minds In July ... Obviously The Phillies Didn't Wait For July And Made Up Their Minds After The World Series ... Sellers ... Nobody Ever Mentions The Reactions That Must Have Been From The Phillie Players When Their Ace Was Traded For "Rebuilding The Farm"... That's The Kind Of Trade You Make When Your 20 Games Out And No Where To Go ... Way To Instill Confidence And Show Your Team You Got Their Backs As They Go For a 3rd Series Appearance ... Any Other Team I'd Say Has Quit On The Season, But I Know It's Not True. ... ...— jimiburnz
Was it just a year ago that Ibanez, Victorino and Werth were all All-Stars? Good morning, good evening, and good night.- Here is the problem: it started with Amaro and his off season trade of Lee and the Jokers he added to the bullpen. Take away Doc and Cole and the starting pitchers have a .509 era. The Bullpen's Era is 4.09. Add to that an offense that has scored 3 runs or less in almost 50% of their games, and you have a third place team. The other problem is that Amaro has depleted the Phils of top players in their minor league system. The three guys he got for Lee from Seatle are all losers. Amaro has destroyed a great team. Rollins, Shane, Ibanez, all about 30 points under what their averages should be. Brown has hit everywhere he's been, it is time to bench Ibanez and play Brown. Also the PHils have the worst bench in the NL. This season is over, and the future does not look bright. Thanks Amaro.— flaphilliesfan
- Get off the pitching. It isn't wonderful, but this team is supposed to cover five runs a game with their glorious offense. Don't be one of Charlie's boys putting down the pitching all the time, blowing smoke to take the pressure off his hackers.— cedara
- From what I am seeing it looks like they don't give a damm anymore. Something happened to this team since last season, the chemistry on this team is missing from the previous two seasons. They had a lot of players that seemed to get along great and a lot of them are gone this year. When you remove a leader like Cliff Lee who single handedly pitched them to the World Series it affects a team. The pitchers that were here Myers, Eyre, Condrey. Park are gone and replaced by inferior players what does that do to team moral. Signing older players to multi year contracts ( Moyer, Ibanez ) not wise money could have been used better for younger players. Baez and Contreras have seen better years and should not be on a championship contending team. David Herndon may be a good pitcher in a few years but why waist a roster spot on a player when you are trying to get back to Series. A lot of bad moves coupled with injuries spells Disaster. Bringing in a Pitcher is not gonna be enough.— btsucceed
- Is Satchel Paige still alive? At age 110 or so he could out-pitch half the Phils' starters.— Delaware Jim
- Depending on the next trade, Rube had better put some emphasis on replenishing the farm clubs with infielders. Utley, Rollins, and Polanco are 31 or older. They still have some sparkle, but a couple years down the road they too will fade, plus they will need decent catching. Today's problems could be tomorrows disasters.— phineas
- Do you people realize Cliff Lee gave up 5 runs in his second WS start? You talk like he pitched two perfect games. Trades in baseball aren't always what they seem. Salary and sustainability are factors too. The Phillies have needs outside of starting pitching right now and they have very little in the system to deal. That's the point of the Cliff Lee deal. If Gillies wasn't hurt and Aumont had pitched better one of those could have been a centerpiece for a deal. btw, if had Cliff Lee we still wouldn't be hitting, so I don't see how he helps us. We only need starting pitching because Happ and Moyer are hurt.— booman55
- Why should we all forget about Lee? Trading him has proven, as we all suspected, to be a collosal mistake. It's midseason in a year that the Phils should have been the class of the NL. As Yogi said, 90% of everything is half mental. This team has been pressing for months. Having Roy, Cliff and Cole going every five days would have brought some stability, some swagger and a few more wins. And yes we know that RAJ would've kept Lee if he could have. Obviously the injuries have been a big factor and are probably the reason that this team will not make the playoffs.— agentdoyle
- Interesting, as we sink deeper into the NL East standings the sweat begins to form on Amaro's forehead. Mean while Charlie Manuel continues to dazzle the baseball world with his wisdom. The organization has been lucky to date to get away with a team of long ball hitters. The basics of baseball, or small ball if you like, have been abandoned, not now, but over a year ago. It has caught up with them, and no amount of pitching is gonna fix the problem. On the field players must execute in order to win, the same goes for the manager. In short, he is very predictable and easily out managed by the better managers last year. Now with the team going south because of upper managements failure to sign Werth he has even less of a chance of digging out of the hole they are in. Also note that after spending a yr in the minors, it has only taken 3 1/2 mo's for Dubee to turn Kendrick into another Eaton. What about the huge advantage we have with Halladay pitching. Can you see how that has changed things? No it hasn't. Why? Because the game is Always much more than just pitching. The Mets proved it and now we are proving it. You need 8 other players who execute to be a winner. For whatever reason we lack that now. Oh and hasn't Rollins return changed the heart and soul of the team. Yeah right.— Wally 24
- LEE!
- This team needs a shakeup and proves what everyone has been saying all along: we never should have let Cliff Lee go. Trade Werth to Oakland for prospects and then send them packing to Houston for Roy Oswalt. Bring up Dominic Brown. Maybe he could inject some life into this club like Lonnie Smith did when he was called up in 1980. Last but not least, is Pedro still available?— Mike Kotyk
- Really sign and trade you watched too much of the Lebronathon. MLB doesnt do it like that. Pitching is one of the problems the phillies have the difference between the pitching and hitting problem is the hitting can get right and get better the pitching is weak behind Doc and Hamels. You need to upgrade the pitching and wake up the offense. We shall see if that can be done.— Phillyphan26
- Will somebody PLEASE convince the cigar-billionaire owner of the Phillies to go after CLIFF LEE in the off-season!!..PLEASE!!— PhillieJoe
- Spider Rico, you are right on!!— PhillieJoe
- I'm not sure making a trade for the sake of making a trade is prudent. Don't panic and do something stupid RAJ. This group has played a lot of baseball the past two seasons. Maybe being humbled by a bad season would be good for these guys. With the year Werth is having he might be signable for next season. Let's just hope he makes the necessary adjustments at the plate. I live in Arizona and I don't get to talk to a lot of phillies phans as loyal and phanatic as you guys(like me too!!). I will say this though, I thought I was certain that the core group the phils have right now would be very competitive at the highest level for many years to come, but their attitude and body language scare me. Also, what do you have to lose calling up Brown now?— jrrIII
- bugsyhawk Rumor is Werth is heading to San Diego for prospects who will go to Houston so that the Phils can have 2 guys named Roy. where did you get that? espn insider?— sgamble077
- IT IS THE BULLPEN that is the problem. this sorry group can't hold any lead, which in turn means they better start hitting and scoring more runs. Go get a top notch reliever, NOW!— sgamble077
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
Matt Gelb
Inquirer Staff Writer
Bob Brookover
Inquirer Baseball Columnist
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