AT LEAST TEMPLE WON AT THE LINC
ATLANTA - The Phillies ended a week of speculation on Wednesday afternoon when they announced they would promote 33-year-old veteran Rodrigo Lopez in time to start tonight against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. But just because the former Orioles righthander is the latest internal candidate to replace Brett Myers in the rotation doesn't mean he will be the last.
If Lopez, who won 51 games for the Orioles from 2002-05, does not prove to be the answer and Carlos Carrasco continues to pitch well at Triple A Lehigh Valley, there is a chance the Phillies could unveil their top prospect sometime after the All-Star break. Same goes for righthander Andrew Carpenter, who had a so-so major league debut start against the Nationals in May but has pitched well since returning to the minors, and righthander Kyle Kendrick, the former Phillies starter who has been refining his secondary pitches at Lehigh Valley.
While general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. says the team has discussed virtually every player who either is available via free agency or could be available via trade, the only certain options are those already in the organization.
"There's 30 teams out there looking for the same thing,'' Amaro said. "What guarantees us that we are going to be able to acquire a guy who is even available? What I can guarantee you is that we can bring up somebody from our own system. That, we're allowed to do.''
The Phillies have identified a handful of players who they would target for a trade. But in a league in which all but a few teams maintain playoff aspirations, the availability of many of those players remains uncertain. Similarly, the team has kicked the tires on several veterans who remain unsigned. But there are reasons those players - righthanders Ben Sheets, Pedro Martinez and Paul Byrd are the three most prominent names - have yet to land with any of the 30 teams in the majors.
Sheets was close to agreeing to a deal with the Rangers in February before elbow surgery put it on hold. And it is unclear when, if at all, the former Brewers ace would be ready to pitch this season. Martinez, who faces questions about both his ability and price-tag, does not appear to be a viable option.
The Phillies have discussed Byrd, who posted a 4.60 ERA in 30 starts for the Red Sox and Indians last season, but it isn't clear if he would represent an upgrade over any of the internal options.
"The question is whether Paul Byrd is going to be any better than any of the guys that we have - Rodrigo Lopez or Carrasco or Carpenter or Kendrick,'' Amaro said. "Why would he be any better than those guys? We've brought up the name, we've talked about it. We've talked about almost every guy that might be available, whether it is free agency or what.''
With All-Star starters scheduled to be announced Sunday at 1 p.m., the Phillies appear to have two players who are locks for the National League team. But if Charlie Manuel has his say - and as the NL manager, he does - leftfielder Raul Ibanez and second baseman Chase Utley won't be the only Phillies appearing in the game.
"I'm the manager of the All-Star team because my guys put me there," said Manuel, who earned the right to manage thanks to the Phillies' World Series victory last season. "That's kind of how I look at the game. I definitely would be partial to my guys. I'll be the first guy to tell you that, really. Everything that I have gotten out of us winning, everything I've got is because our guys played good and they won . . . If you ask me who I would vote for or pick, any time I can pick one of my players, I'm definitely in favor of that. But at the same time, when you look at things, you've got to be kind of fair to the game and also a guy who is having a big year. That can be hard to do because there are so many."
The Phillies are hopeful that Raul Ibanez will make his first rehab appearance tonight for Double A Reading, but they have harbored similar hopes for the last 2 days, so the status of the leftfielder and his strained groin remains wait-and-see.
But Ruben Amaro said the delay is not indicative of a setback. Rather, the team wants to proceed with caution in order to minimize the risk of reinjury.
Ibanez is eligible to be activated from the disabled list today, but the team wants him to get around 12 at-bats in the minors before they clear him to rejoin the active roster. In other words, he won't be back with the team until next week at the earliest.
"We have to remember, this is a muscle that's been damaged," Amaro said. "It's only been 2 weeks. We have to let it heal and repair, so I would rather err on the side of being conservative on the guy if he doesn't feel quite right to start games, then there is no reason to push him forward. Because if he reinjures it, it could be damaging for the long term."
Lefthander Scott Eyre (strained calf), who allowed three hits and a run in two-thirds of an inning of his first rehab start Wednesday, is "physically fine" but remains "a little rusty," Ruben Amaro said. He is scheduled to pitch again for Reading tonight . . . Righthander Brett Myers, likely done for the season after hip surgery last month, was cleared by hip specialist Dr. Bryan Kelly to begin a throwing program in 2 weeks . . . Righthander Clay Condrey (oblique), eligible to be activated from the DL tomorrow, played long-toss for a third straight day. *
For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.
Photos: 2009 Phillies 
