Phils go to general managers' meetings with holes to fill

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Phillies' free-agent dance with Carlos Ruiz could come to an end before Thanksgiving, as long as general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. keeps his word on striking quick to get a catcher off the open market.

Regardless of how the situation with Ruiz plays out - he has attracted considerable interest in his first week as a free agent - the Phillies have to address several areas of need in the next 3 months. In addition to catcher, the Phillies are hoping to upgrade their pitching staff and outfield, too.

"They're all high priorities," Amaro said when asked to rank his team's needs. "We've got some stuff to do, we have holes to fill."

Activity could heat up this week: Major League Baseball's owners and general managers will take over the World Center Marriott for the next 3 days for their annual November meetings.

Those owners and general managers are expected to be as aggressive as ever this winter, in part because every team is receiving $24 million this year as a part of the new national television contract.

The Phillies also have a local TV contract that expires after the 2015 season. When that new deal is completed - it's expected to be enormous, and it could happen as early as this winter - the Phils will have even more spending money at their disposal.

How much of that money the Phils choose to spend, however, is another question altogether. Teams are penalized if they exceed the luxury-tax threshold, which will be $189 million in 2014.

"I haven't really had a full discussions with David [Montgomery, team president] about that, but we've got flexibility," Amaro said. "It it limited. I've said it many times - our payroll was around $165 million last year? We should be able to put a contender on the field for $165 million. We should be able to to a contender out there for that kind of payroll."

The Phillies have seven major league players under contract for $118.5 million in 2014. Put recent Cuban signee Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez into that mix, and it's eight players at $122.5 million.

Factor in the players on the roster eligible for arbitration and those making at or close to the major league minimum, and the Phils have roughly $47.75 million to spend if they hope to function under the $189 million tax threshold.

You'd have to think a decent chunk of that will be spent on an impact outfield bat (or two).

In 2013, Phillies outfielders hit a collective .259 with a .407 slugging percentage and .720 OPS; all of those numbers fell short of the major league averages for outfielders (.262, .415, .741), and that's with the All-Star numbers of Domonic Brown included. Three years after losing Jayson Werth to free agency, the Phils have yet to find a permanent replacement for him in right, and their outfield situation became worse when they traded away both Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino 15 months ago.

Barring a trade, Brown is the only lock for a starting spot in 2014, although Ben Revere proved to be an asset at the top of the lineup for 2 of 3 months he was healthy last season. The Phils could add two outfielders: one to take over regular duties in a corner outfield spot and another to share time in center with Revere.

They could also overspend to reel in an All-Star bat for one of the corner spots and take their chances with Revere on a full-time basis in center. Do they need to find more than one outfield bat this winter?

"We're just trying to improve," Amaro said. "Clearly our outfield was poor last year and it needs to get better. So whether it is one or two, we need to get better. When one of our front-line guys went down, we didn't have guys to fill the holes. It just needs to get better."

A possible plan: Spend big dollars on a short-term deal with All-Star Carlos Beltran (a $15 million per-year deal not unlike Chase Utley's contract) and take a chance on Chris Young as a potential platoon partner with Revere. That's only if you can get the 30-year-old Young at a discounted rate (2 years, $10 million?) after a down season in Oakland; he made $8.5 million in 2013.

With uncertainty in the starting rotation beyond All-Stars Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee, the Phils are also likely to patrol the open market for a dependable No. 3 starter to replace Roy Halladay. Amaro said the Phils still have interest in Halladay; but at this point, he cannot be counted on to man one of the top three spots in a contending team's rotation.

The biggest starting pitcher names on the free agent market include Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Garza, Ervin Santana and Ricky Nolasco. According to foxsports.com, Santana and Nolasco are asking for multiyear deals for $100 million and $80 million, respectively.

Considering Nolasco's numbers in the last 3 years aren't all that different from those of Kyle Kendrick, that would seem like an awful lot of money. Nolasco is 35-36 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 98 games in the last three seasons; Kendrick is 29-31 with a 4.05 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 101 games in the same time span.

An alternative: Rather than spending big dollars on a younger arm that's not necessarily a top-of-the-rotation arm, sign an older veteran pitcher to a shorter-term contract. A.J. Burnett, who turns 37 in 2 months, is coming off two strong seasons with Pittsburgh: He led all National League starters in strikeout rate and ground-ball rate in 2013.

Burnett's agent is Darek Braunecker, who also represents Lee. Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock has a strong working relationship with Braunecker.

Another pitcher in the same mold as Burnett is Atlanta's Tim Hudson. Signing either of those two to a deal that would pay them in the neighborhood of $16 million in 2014 would seem to be money well-spent, especially when the alternative is overpaying for a Garza or Nolasco.

If the Phils can address the outfield and rotation as suggested, that would leave close to $12 million to use on a catcher and bullpen help. Regardless of whether ownership and management decide to exceed the luxury tax, they clearly have enough spending money to upgrade the roster this winter.

The Phillies, of course, do not have to do all of their offseason work on the free-agent market. If they can find a partner, the Phils could upgrade via trade, too.

Los Angeles outfielders Mark Trumbo (Angels) and Matt Kemp (Dodgers), righthanded hitters who would fit into the Phillies' lefthanded-heavy lineup, reportedly are on the trading block. But completing those kinds of trades are far from easy.

Trumbo, who has hit 95 home runs in the last three seasons, is 3 years away from free agency and would cost a considerable amount in pitching and prospects. He turns 28 in January. Kemp, 29, meanwhile, is a centerfielder 2 years removed from an MVP-worthy season who has battled injuries and has 6 years and $120 million left on his contract.

Miami's Giancarlo Stanton would attract the Phillies' attention if he were to come available in a trade, but the Marlins have publicly declared they have zero interest in listening to offers for the 24-year-old slugger.

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese