Phillies' Werth, Amaro in same ballpark; can they get on same page?

FROM THE SAME podium, 2 hours apart, two men did their best to frame the negotiations. First came the general manager, putting the onus on his free agents' desires to remain with the club.

"It depends on how much they want to come back," Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

Next came the free agent - one of five, but, by far, the most interesting - putting the onus on the club's desire to allocate a chunk of its significant revenue toward retaining a significant piece of its lineup.

"The team has taken the necessary steps to create a winning atmosphere, and, hopefully, they'll continue to do that," Jayson Werth said. "Obviously, we know business is good in Philadelphia. They could probably sign whoever they want. Whether or not that's me, we'll have to wait and see."

Of course, both sides realize the matter is far more complicated than any news conference talking point can capture. Werth, 31, has made it clear throughout the season he is open to re-signing with the Phillies. He reiterated yesterday that the relationship he has cultivated with the fans, particularly those seated closest to him as he manned rightfield over the past three seasons, is a special one. He said it will be difficult to replicate the chemistry he has felt with his teammates since signing with the Phillies as a little-known free agent in 2007. He talked about a meeting with Charlie Manuel and Pat Gillick at the beginning of his tenure, when he told them of his goal of becoming a fixture in the middle of the team's batting order. And he talked about the shock he felt in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series when he watched the Giants' Juan Uribe's go-ahead home run slip over the top of the fence and hasten an end to a season in which the Phillies were heavy favorites to advance to their third straight World Series.

But he also said several times something that only the most naive observers will ignore: that this is a business. That baseball's collective bargaining agreement is constructed to make free agency the reward for years of hard work and below-market-value pay players must log during the first part of their careers. When Werth was 27 and dealing with a complex wrist injury that threatened his future in the sport, his only support structure consisted of himself and his family. Now is his time to reward both.

"I'm in no hurry," Werth said. "Any business decision that I've made over the last few years, I've definitely thought about it. There's no reason to rush into this."

Like Werth, the Phillies must decide what is best for their future. They must balance their professed desire to retain their No. 5 hitter with their professed desire to improve other areas of the club, and then they must balance that competitive game plan with whatever economic game plan ownership has set for itself.

That last part of the equation is the most difficult one to handicap. It is a little easier to quantify Werth's value than the amount of money the Phillies are in position to spend. Over his previous three seasons, Werth ranks among the major league leaders in home runs (14th, with 87), on-base percentage (21st, with .376) and slugging percentage (18th, with .513).

Last offseason, when outfielder Jason Bay signed a 4-year, $66 million deal with the Mets, his numbers in the previous three seasons were inferior to those Werth has posted: 88 home runs in 1,922 plate appearances (Werth: 87 home runs in 1,810 plate appearances), a .267 batting average (Werth: .279), a .362 on-base percentage, .493 slugging percentage, .855 on-base plus slugging percentage (Werth: .889), 27 stolen bases (Werth: 53).

Matt Holliday, the top outfielder on the market last offseason, had superior offensive numbers to Werth and received a 7-year, $120 million from the Cardinals. The gap between Bay's and Holliday's contracts is significant, but they give some idea of the range - in both dollars and years - where Werth and agent Scott Boras can reasonably expect his next deal to fall.

While Amaro pointed out Werth's .186 batting average with runners in scoring position, Werth and Boras would argue it is an anomaly (he hit .279 in those situations in 2009 and .274 in 2008).

"Jayson had a good year," Amaro said. "It wasn't a phenomenal year. He had kind of a tough time with men in scoring position, and it wasn't as productive a year as he's had in the past. I think if he's not with us, there are players that we can acquire or we have in our organization that can help us be consistent."

A lot less is known about the Phillies' financial situation, short of the record attendance and television ratings they have posted during a 3-year stretch in which they won one World Series, lost another and fell two wins short of reaching a third. There are two questions: How much are the Phillies willing to spend? And how much can they afford to spend? Because they are a private company, and are unlikely to open their accounting books for all to see, we probably will never get a good handle on how close those two numbers are.

Over the past couple of offseasons, they have shown a willingness to spend more than any other team in club history. They opened 2010 with a payroll of around $136 million, and already have guaranteed at least $135 million to 16 players in 2011.

"I haven't had any discussions with Scott [Boras] yet," Amaro said. "Over the next 48 hours or so, we'll make contact. I guess the followup question is, 'Do we have enough money to do it, and would we like to bring him back?' The answer to both questions is yes. However, that'll all kind of depend on what the ask is, and ultimately how that will affect us with other possible moves we would have to make to do that."

The Phillies might not be able to replace Werth with one player. The free-agent market is short on all-around outfielders. Magglio Ordonez and Manny Ramirez, both righthanded hitters, are among the bigger names, but both seem unlikely fits (both are also represented by Boras, whom Werth signed with over the summer). There are some other options, particularly if their primary goal is to find a 1-year stopgap before top prospect Domonic Brown's emergence or Raul Ibanez' expiring contract provides them with the ability for a longer-term solution.

Yesterday, Amaro repeated what he said in September - the organization has not guaranteed Brown a spot on the team. The 23-year-old lefthanded-hitting corner outfielder played well in stretches after being called up in late July, but saw his playing time diminish down the stretch. The Phillies think he is still a work in progress, particularly in the field, and have not ruled out having him start 2011 in the minors. They are unlikely to sacrifice the development he would get playing every day to serve as part of a platoon, although a platoon situation involving players besides Brown would be a possibility.

Ross Gload, a lefty who hit .281 with six home runs and an .813 OPS in 128 at-bats, can play the outfield and is signed through next season.

Jeff Francoeur, who could become a free agent if the Rangers decline to offer him a contract, hit .300 with an .805 OPS and 18 strikeouts in 120 at-bats against lefties this season. The Phillies also return reserve outfielder Ben Francisco, who hit .284 with a .901 OPS and 15 strikeouts in 88 at-bats against lefties this season.

Keep in mind that in 2008, Werth began the season platooning with veteran Geoff Jenkins in rightfield. Now, he is a long way from those days, which presents the question: Can the Phillies, who historically have moved quickly on these things, surprise people by reaching an agreement with Boras, who historically has not? *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HighCheese.