MUST BE DREAMING: TEMPLE IS 9-2?
IF YOU TAKE Ruben Amaro Jr. and Charlie Manuel at face value, then Kyle Drabek will remain in the Phillies organization for a long time. The 21-year-old righthander, who appears to have passed Carlos Carrasco as the team's top pitching prospect, will not be included in a trade for a major league-ready starting pitcher, whether that starting pitcher is Roy Halladay or Cy Young.
Although Amaro did not mention Drabek by name yesterday when he told reporters that there are prospects in his system that he considers "untouchable," his manager took care of that for him.
"It'd be tough for me to trade Drabek," Manuel said. "I like Drabek because he's strong in his legs and his hips and he's a drop-and-drive kind of pitcher. I'm not a pitching coach but I like his mechanics and I like where he comes from and he's a strong-bodied kid, like a Tom Seaver type or a Bartolo Colon, and he's got that kind of stuff. And he's young, and I think he has a big upside to him."
To put those words in perspective, consider that Manuel uttered them after he told reporters he would rather err on the side of striking a deal to win now than on hanging on to prospects who will not pay dividends until the future. When a man whose job it is to win in the present thinks a pitcher's future value is too immense to trade away, even for a front-line starter like Halladay, it carries some weight.
The context of the conversations that Manuel and Amaro held with reporters yesterday involved the sudden availability of Halladay, the 32-year-old former Cy Young winner whom Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi effectively placed on the trading block in a series of media interviews Tuesday. The Phillies have had interest in Halladay for quite some time, along with a host of other teams who see the veteran righthander's 10-2 record and 2.79 ERA as a potential big step toward inclusion in the next couple of World Series.
But the Blue Jays will be seeking a blockbuster package of prospects in return for their ace, who is owed roughly $7 million for the rest of this season and $15.75 million in 2010, the final year of his contract. The Phillies' farm system has improved dramatically over the past couple of seasons, particularly in the pitching department. In addition to Drabek, who is 9-1 with a 2.58 ERA at Class A Clearwater and Double A Reading this season, the organization is enamored with 2008 second-round pick Jason Knapp, an 18-year-old righthander who has a 3.40 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 84 2/3 innings at low-Class A Lakewood this season.
Outfielder Dominic Brown, who was hitting .299 with nine home runs and 14 stolen bases at Clearwater before breaking his finger, is considered the organization's top position prospect.
Drabek is the only player Manuel said he would not trade. But Amaro, who makes the decisions, indicated there are others.
Most insiders label Knapp and Brown as two such untouchables, and the availability of Halladay might not change that.
"There are some untouchables in our system," Amaro said. "It is important to win now, and we understand the importance of that. But that said, there are players that we would like to keep for our future and I would say that they are not untouchable as others."
Even precluding Drabek, Brown and Knapp, the Phillies have other talent that they view as valuable bargaining chips. Carrasco has had an inconsistent season at Triple A Lehigh Valley, where he is 5-8 with a 5.06 ERA, but he is still just 22, and the organization believes he has top-of-the-rotation stuff. Michael Taylor, an outfielder at Double A Reading, was hitting .345 with 15 home runs and 17 stolen bases going into last night's game against Akron. And infielder Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson are solid prospects at premium positions who are near their minor league ceiling at Triple A.
But the Phillies lack a true blue-chipper who is ready for the major leagues, like former Brewers minor leaguer and current Indian Matt LaPorta, who was the centerpiece of Milwaukee's deal for ace lefty CC Sabathia last season. Can the Phillies swing a deal without such a player, and without parting with one of the high-ceiling players they have deemed off limits?
Stay tuned.
Ruben Amaro Jr. declined to discuss specifics of the team's flirtation with future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, but a Phillies scout told ESPNDeportes.com that he and special assistant Charley Kerfeld were impressed with what they saw in a simulated game on Tuesday.
"The decision to sign him depends on the front office, but as far as we are concerned, we saw a Pedro Martinez ready to help a team," scout Robinson Garcia told the Web site.
And the front office?
"I really don't want to comment much about it," Amaro said, "other than we are trying to do what we can to add to our club and if we feel at the end of the day that Pedro is going to help us, then we'll make a run at him."
Charlie Manuel said he is hopeful that Raul Ibanez (groin) will be back from the disabled list in time to participate in the Phillies' final two games before the All-Star break, as well as the All-Star Game itself, in which Ibanez has been voted a starter. Ibanez is scheduled to play between seven and nine innings in his third rehab start tonight . . . Righthander Clay Condrey (oblique) will head to Florida to begin a rehab assignment "any day now," Manuel said . . . Regardless of who wins the voting for the final spot in the All-Star Game, which ends today, centerfielder Shane Victorino could wind up in St. Louis. Manuel, the National League manager, said yesterday that Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran will miss the game with an injury, opening up another spot on the roster. *
For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.
Photos: 2009 Phillies Photos: Pedro Martinez Photos: MLB All-Stars
