Phillies Notebook: Phillies taking a look at Martinez

When asked yesterday what he thinks when he hears the name Pedro Martinez, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel mentioned that he thinks about Martinez "when he was about 18 to 25 years old."

It isn't clear whether that is actually what he thinks, or if he was subtly indicating that he does not view a 37-year-old, oft-injured pitcher who has posted a 4.99 ERA in 25 starts over the last two seasons as a realistic option to bolster his team's rotation.

Regardless, one thing is clear: Martinez, at the very least, is an option. According to club sources, the Phillies are scheduled to watch Martinez throw a bullpen session in the Dominican Republic today. Charley Kerfeld, whose official title is special assistant to the general manager but who can be best described as Ruben Amaro Jr.'s eyes and ears, will represent the organization at the workout, which will be attended by a handful of major league teams.

The Phillies are still in an exploratory mode, one source said. In other words, a signing is not imminent, or even likely. The team also has had discussions about veteran free-agent Paul Byrd, who posted a 4.60 ERA in 30 starts for the Indians and Red Sox last season.

Early last month, the team did not view Martinez as a viable option, thanks to questions about his performance, as well as various reports that had him commanding a $5 million salary.

The Phillies were not present when Martinez threw for scouts on June 18, but internal discussions about the future Hall of Famer have intensified over the past couple of weeks, thanks in large part to a trade market that has been slow to develop.

Martinez is a three-time Cy Young winner who is 214-99 with a 2.91 ERA in 17 big-league seasons, but his last healthy, productive season came in 2005, when he went 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA in 31 starts for the Mets. He went 9-8 with a 4.48 ERA in 2006, then had rotator-cuff surgery in the offseason. He returned to the Mets in September 2007, going 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in five starts. But a hamstring injury hampered him last season, when he went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts.

Martinez pitched against the Phillies three times last season. He allowed two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 10-9 win at Citizens Bank Park on July 7, then allowed five runs on seven hits in five innings of an 8-7 loss in Philadelphia on Aug. 26. He also faced the Phillies at Shea Stadium on Sept. 7, allowing six runs in four innings of a 6-2 Mets loss.

"What I saw of him last year, basically, is he can give you five or six innings, probably," Manuel said. "His fastball is going to be 85-to-90, somewhere in there. He still has a good changeup and a curveball and a good feel for pitching."

But Manuel has said several times this season that he would like to add a starting pitcher who is capable of pitching deep into games.

"When I talk [about] a starter, I think of a guy who is top of the rotation," Manuel said. "I'm talking about a [No.] 1 or a 2, some guy who can take us through seven or eight innings . . . I think a five-inning pitcher, I think you can find those guys. Don't get me wrong, I want anybody who can improve our team. That means pitcher or position player or whatever. But at the same time, I am a firm believer that in the major leagues today . . . the good pitchers are young pitchers."

Problem is, there is a paucity of such pitchers available right now, which is why the Phillies are exploring all available options. Members of the front office have made it clear that if they have their druthers, they will find a way to bolster the rotation through a trade that, at the very least, is in the mold of the deals that landed Kyle Lohse and Joe Blanton the last 2 years.

But with 12 National League teams still within five games of a division title or wild-card spot, many would-be sellers are biding their time. And for that reason, the Phillies will take a gander at other options. *