Amaro: Phillies probably done making moves
The reality increases daily of a Phillies outfield hodgepodge formed by Ben Revere, Domonic Brown, John Mayberry Jr., Darin Ruf and Laynce Nix. The man tasked with forming the 2013 roster was willing to admit as much Monday.
Amaro: Phillies probably done making moves
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
The reality increases daily of a Phillies outfield hodgepodge formed by Ben Revere, Domonic Brown, John Mayberry Jr., Darin Ruf and Laynce Nix. The man tasked with forming the 2013 roster was willing to admit as much Monday.
"We're likely going with what we've got," Ruben Amaro Jr. said.
Spring training begins Feb. 12 in Clearwater, Fla., and the Phillies will arrive with hopes pinned to an aging, expensive core. Youth is the choice in the outfield, for better or worse.
"There's some risk in going with a possible double platoon or letting the guys we have battle it out for playing time," Amaro said. "There are some advantages to that, as well. The best-man-wins type of scenario can be created and likely will be created in spring training. At the same time, a lot of these guys are not proven everyday major-league players. But that doesn't mean they cannot become them."
The GM did not eliminate the possibility of a veteran addition for the outfield, but admitted within his current constraints (both monetary and player-wise), there is not much more than a marginal upgrade available. He categorized his current pursuit as "looking around for some low-risk, high-reward type of players."
There is money to spend, if the Phillies maintain a similar payroll to 2012. The Phillies are an estimated $7 million shy of the $178 million luxury tax threshold. Amaro said he has "a little bit" to spend. He would not say if he has extended any formal offers to current free agents.
The Phillies have 39 players on their 40-man roster.
What Amaro and his lieutenants may have decided is those resources are best utilized later. The reported options in free agency and trades -- Scott Hairston, Vernon Wells, Alfonso Soriano -- are flawed. There could be a better fit come July. Should the Phillies enter 2013 with wiggle room, they could be well-positioned for the splash everyone expected this winter.
"If there is a player that is better who we feel could help us now, we'll utilize our resources to get him," Amaro said. "If there isn't, then we may be better served to hold on a see what we could do during the year."
Chances are the Phillies start 2013 with an unproven outfield. If anything, it should make for a fascinating spring training.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
This means Ruben is gettng ready to make a big move! Justin Upton, or perhaps a smaller move in Delmon Young?— carlosbeltran- Lucky the Marlins had that fire sale or it could be a last place finish for our "Phightins". The Tonner thinks Rube and Howie are having a contest to see who can get fired first. An outfield that includes Mayberry (not again), Brown (not again), Nix (who?) Ruf (you'd better be the second coming of Ryan Howard kid) and Revere (younger Juan Pierre) is the outfield of a .500 team if the pitching and infield hold up. If not, could be looking at a 100 loss team. You heard it from the Tonner first.— hunglikeaton
- I hope they are not done making moves. This lineup has a big time need for power hitters. They can no longer rely on Utley (knees) and Howard (the strikeout king).— fanup
- So they depend on pitching ...again. And if one gets hurt, they are done, again. This is a last place team unless the entire lineup hits like Carlos did last season.— Koons
- And, of course, Carlos won't ever hit like Carlos hit last year ... One or two great starters is not going to carry the day for this squad. They are in trouble. Hoping and wishing is all we have, unfortunately. @fanup -- thanks to Rube-the-Boob, they have no choice but to rely on Utley and Howard. He has saddled them with so many bad deals and traded away so many prospects that there is nothing left to do. Next year, they will fire Manuel and give us Sandberg as the "hope." I'm still thinking about last off-season, when Smug Ruben was promising "small-ball." Pathetic excuse for a GM. — Copper34
- We probably should not even show up for Spring Training--all is lost the sky is falling and everyone but Copper34 is a moron.
Neither I nor you "oh genius one" can predict with any certainty how the season will play out.
Washington will have to prove that they can catch "lightining in a bottle again"--in my experience it is not so easy to repeat. Let's see if Harper's hat still fits now that he has a biography. Can Gonzalez pitch like an ace again, etc.
Let's see how the Braves do without Jones and McCain for the first half of the season.
The Mets and the Marlins are a mess.
The Phillies have an aging core--but the bulk of their core (Utley, Howard, Rollins and Ruiz) are in their early (not late 30's). There are question marks--as there are with all teams--but this team, with most of the core intact for the second half of last season had a very good record.
My gosh--let's play the games and see what happens.— Smoothellc - Not a fan of Ruben Amaro at all and no fan ever likes hearing "we're done" when there are plenty of holes left. That being said, I think this is the best course of action. What's out there is retread junk and none of those players are difference makers. Accept the fact that right now this team is in that middling position where it's not as talented as the top tier teams and will need a lot of breaks to get a wild card shot. Save that $7 million, wait until July when half the salaries for the year have been paid and then you'll have more wiggle room maybe to swing a deal for a bat if the team is somewhat in contention. If the team is not in contention and all the wheels have finally fallen off (Utley not being able to play and halladay not bouncing back) then you can just throw away the season, take Utley and Halladays money off the books and try again next offseason. It's like the Eagles this year. Sometimes you just have to throw away an entire year and start over. It's amazing how close we are to a Phillies squad that may only have Cole Hamels left over from the 2008 team.— Sewellmatt
- oh yeah, have another drink Rube, its all good. just dont fire Charlie because Young or whoever bats fifth didnt protect Howard. I hope Young does great, but its unreasonable to expect he will succeed to his past levels.
good luck Phils-work the count boys, pick your pitches, cant wait for this season to start.take care— jzjazzy - Another off season feeding at the bottom of the dumpster. What happened to that corner outfielder you were supposedly trying to sign, Amaro? Outsmarted again? So, you're going to war with Nix, Brown, and Mayberry? That's what you consider competitive? Retreads again? Amaro, you are a boy playing a man's game. Once again, just like your playing career, you've come up short as a GM. You suck.— ghost of callison
- I'll second every single thing written here by @ghost. Rubens A. Moron, Jr.s is a boy playing a man's game indeed.
20 out by September 1st, if not more.— advantasux - Finally agree with Ruben on something. But nothing wrong with an outfield of Ruf, Revere and Brownie every day. Don't platoon. Ruf led all of professional baseball with 52 homers last year. Let him protect Howard and its time to see if Brownie has it or not in right. Just have a good defensive outfielder ready for left when Adams sets up in the eight and Pap closes in the ninth.— Dull
- Given availability at this time of corner OF's (which is zippo), RAJ is doing the best thing. Not paying for members of the over the hill gang (like Wells and Soriano) or raiding the farm of whats left (except maybe for J Upton) makes one believe RAJ has a bit of common sense. We all know the team has to get younger so letting some kids take their turn is refreshing. I do agree with some of the posters that Ruf might indeed be a "Bull" Luzinski type but that pressure to do so doesn't hurt him. Lastly, I hope Cholly plays Dom Brown every day with no more than a full day off maybe once every few weeks against super tough lefty's although if he's going to be the everyday super star predicted, he'll have to take his lumps and learn how to adjust this year. If he would just shorten his "loopy" swing, I think it would help. He already has a good plate discipline.— streetrat
- Ummm - the predictions re: "Brownie" now have him as a bust - not a super star ... After all, he is an outfielder who can't field. He doesn't hit for average. He doesn't hit for power. He is one of those "five tool" guys they talk about in Moneyball (which Smug Ruben doesn't know anything about). Dom Brown -- the one prospect that RAJ absolutely refused to part with ... So sad. That said -- I am still hoping Dom can turn it around ... and that Ruf is more Luzinski than Len Matuzek ... and that Ben Revere can generate some runs (in the lead-off spot, Charlie!!!) ... and that Adams' arm is healed ... and that Pap wasn't as bad as he looked in big games last season ... and that Utley's knees are healed ... and that Howard has learned to hit lefties, hit breaking balls, and field his position ... and that Michael Young still has something in the tank ... Go Phils!! But, please fire Amaro already!!! — Copper34
- Nice Moves Amaro. Now if those two primadonnas Lee and Halladay can just do their jobs unlike last year, then the Phils certainly will return to the playoffs. The additions of Young and Revere will help with the playoff hitting problems we've had in years past.— 420Phillie
- These posters like "420Phillie" must be Phillies PR people, right? I mean the nonsense they type is laughable. If they are PR-types, they ought to be fired. They suck almost as much as Rube-the-Boob. The least they could do is point out that nobody traded for Halladay has made it in the bigs, that it was Gillick that traded Gio for Freddy, and that Wilson Valdez hasn't won one game on the mound since he left the Phillies ... — Copper34
