Cleveland will scout at Reading, Lee deal remains a possibility
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Cleveland will scout at Reading, Lee deal remains a possibility
Andy Martino
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.
Kyle Drabek pitches tonight for Reading, though the Phillies do not believe that would have to part with their top pitching prospect to acquire Lee, the 2008 A.L. Cy Young Award winner. A baseball source also said that the Indians will “double up” their scouts to watch Vance Worley pitch on Thursday. Worley, a righthander, is 6-8 with a 5.68 ERA this year.
A person with direct knowledge of the Jays thinking told the Inquirer that the team is done scouting the Phillies, though it would not be out of the realm of possibility for them to take one more look at Drabek tonight.
In other news on the Plan B Watch, lefty Jarrod Washburn pitches for Seattle tomorrow night. While the Phillies have always favored the idea of acquiring Roy Halladay, Seattle’s Erik Bedard and Washburn have been on their radar, as well as Lee. With Bedard now on the disabled list—and one member of the Phillies staff recently questioned to me Bedard's desire to pitch deep into games, anyway—Lee and Washburn remain the two most logical non-Halladay options.
Plus, the loss of Bedard would seem to make the Mariners more likely to trade off players at the deadline. Ruben Amaro Jr. declined to say whether the Phils would send a scout to watch Washburn tomorrow.
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.
Comments (48)
Tell Jays to pick EITHER Drabek or Brown, then give them Happ and Donald plus an A League prospect. If they say no, WALK AWAY.— JBP- mungman...when your GM goes after the top pitching available, your team is broke one way or another.Ain't broke...puhleassee— MFPhils
- philsfansince1946 --- I can identify with your frustration because I have been a fan since 1953. Most people on these blogs will never know what it was like back in those days, but here's one think you can take to the bank. The Phils will win another World Series in the next 5 yrs. even if they do not make a trade for Halladay. What we all forget in the hunt for an "ACE" is that, with that goal, we are going for back to back wins. A very unusual feat in the baseball world, but it doesn't mean we won't win another in the coming years. So keep the faith man, there is always next season as we well know.— Wally 24
Comment removed.- psu,i value a 7 and 1 lefthander,more than a 7 and 1 right hander,the key word being lefthander,if he was 7 and 1 with the pirates,i would make that deal in a heartbeat— soliteryman
- Most people are missing the boat....its our closer that is the problem here. If Lidge was 85 to 90% of what he was last year we would be 5 games to the better. Go after Sherill or Qualls (bullpen) and then add Willingham to give you a quality bat for your bench. Hamels/Blanton/Happ is as good as Hamels/Myers/Moyer of last year!— bbrady25
- Hey all I have 2 questions. What the he** are we going to do with all the left handers? What about the Angels Weaver? The Angels have been interested in Halladay also maybe we could pry Weaver loose. He'd be a great addition to the rotation.— Wally 24
- bbrady, if we get Halladay, we won't have to worry about our bullpen for 2 games of every series we are in, all the guy does is pitch complete games.— robm0202
- bbrady25 ... Exactly what I have been worring about for the last month. The Phils have a lot of Rotation possibilities in their own system right now, but the Closer is a worry. There is an out with Myers, if he can come back in time. Both Lopez and Martinez have the experience to start in the LCS & W.S. Once this week is over and the dust settles I'm sure they'll decide what role Pedro and Brett will play for the team. Mean time we still need right handed bench help badly. I mean come on, are we going to the W.S. with a team of lefties? The one ingredient people tend to over look is the hitting and more to the point hitters with bat control. The Phils of 09 have made huge improvements in this area but we still lack from the right side and Bruntlett is not a viable solution to the problem.— Wally 24
- Blanton is 23-12 since coming to the Phils including post season. Any more of him around? That's all we need.— pattymac3
- I think Toronto is being difficult since they feel they don't have to make any deal. I know they want to dump his contract, but they can sell their fans that they held onto him thinking they can still contend. If we can guarentee we can lock up Halladay after this contract expires, I'd give them what they want. Since they will not, shop elsewhere and those canadians to SUCK IT and stick to hockey.— Tar Heel 1
- For those who are yelling to just 'trade the farm'. Please read Mike Celizic's article. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/32162069/ns/sports-baseball/— pizano13
- The Blue Jays can kiss my mammy's jammin' arse. Anyone that believes this is a good deal for Halladay is lame. I remember when Milaukee got CC last year and they were guaranteed the NL Championship..........there are no guarantees but the chances of a couple of our prospects being impact players are good.— rockinrob
- Drabek with Marson and Taylor...period....no Happ, no Brown...take it or leave it....oh, and you can have Mayberry, too.— psuwelsh
- Get it done, Amaro! Typical Phillies hemming and hawing..Get the sure fire major league pitcher! Prospects are just that, prospects! 2 championships in 125 years means you do whatever it takes to win now!— igglegreen
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