Phillies set up shop at meetings

ORLANDO, Fla. - Ruben Amaro Jr. checked in to the JW Marriott Grande Lakes shortly before 4 p.m. yesterday, the first of 3 days of general managers and owners meetings.

Not long after his arrival Amaro was in the midst of a rap session with Philadelphia-based baseball writers when Miami Marlins general manager Dan Jennings walked through the lobby. The two NL East GMs exchanged handshakes and pleasantries.

"We'll talk later," Amaro told Jennings as their brief greeting came to a conclusion.

One of the writers then made a joke about Marlins All-Star slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, who happens to be Amaro's latest man crush. The Phillies general manager laughed.

"That's not gonna happen," Amaro said.

He laughed again.

The Phillies - and 28 other teams in baseball - aren't likely to trade for Stanton this winter. A year removed from selling off nearly every other All-Star on its roster, Marlins ownership says it is building around Stanton, who only turned 24 last week.

The Phillies, however, are expected to be active on just about every other front this winter, with several areas of need following the franchise's first losing season in 10 years. Two of those needs - catcher and pitching coach - could be addressed sooner rather than later.

A week after Carlos Ruiz filed for free agency for the first time in his career, Amaro continued to say he had an interest in bringing the catcher back to Philadelphia upon his arrival in Orlando. But Amaro also said he wants to have a catcher signed before the end of the month.

"I would hope so," Amaro said of signing a catcher before December. "None of the clubs can let things drag out too much. You kind of have to get your business done."

Ruiz, who turns 35 in January, is seeking a multiyear deal with a raise from the $5 million he earned last season. Despite his age and down year offensively in 2013, Ruiz is an attractive name in a catching market that includes another aging catcher (A.J. Pierzynski, 36) and two others who are looking to break the proverbial bank (Brian McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia).

The Phillies have talked with Ruiz's agent, Marc Kligman. But both parties are keeping the content of those discussions to themselves.

In repeating the phrase, "It takes two to tango," at every turn, however, Amaro would lead one to believe he's lukewarm at best with the catcher's current asking price.

"We have a time limit," Amaro said. "There are other targets. We've made inquiries with a lot of different guys. We're kind of on board in a variety of areas. If Carlos isn't our catcher than someone else has to catch for us."

With the Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees, Rangers and Rockies among teams looking for catchers, Amaro was asked if he expected the catching market to move along quickly because of the simple rules of supply and demand. But the general manager wasn't exactly on board with that logic.

"It might [move along quick], but there aren't as many seats available as people think," Amaro said. "A lot of people have catchers. There are probably six or seven out there looking to be placed."

After the four aforementioned free agents, others on the open market include Dioner Navarro, John Buck, Kurt Suzuki and Jose Molina. But only one of those four players, Buck, started at least 100 games last year; and Buck hit .219 with a .648 OPS in his 110 games.

"There could be guys we could acquire through a trade, too," Amaro said, in what sounded like a bit of free-agent negotiation posturing. "There are people out there."

While catching candidates remain available, the potential pitching coaches on the Phillies' radar have dwindled in the last 2 weeks. Exactly 6 weeks after firing Rich Dubee, Amaro has yet to find a replacement for manager Ryne Sandberg's coaching staff.

The Phils were spurned by Atlanta's Roger McDowell. They also interviewed Jim Benedict, the Pirates' minor league pitching coordinator, among others.

"We've made a couple of offers and they've decided to go different places," Amaro said, not identifying those candidates. "We still have candidates. And we're still looking at some other possible ones, too."

Amaro declined to say whether the team currently had any offers out to potential candidates.

Rod Nichols, the Phillies' bullpen coach last season, was identified as a candidate last month. But since he hasn't been offered the job, Nichols is more likely to return in 2014 as the bullpen coach if he remains on the coaching staff.

One other area of need Amaro almost certainly will address this winter: starting pitching. Beyond Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee, the Phillies have more question marks than reliable arms in the rotation.

In the last several years, the Phils have shied away from giving any starting pitcher a contract for more than 3 years, with Hamels and Lee, a pair of All-Stars, as the exceptions. Would the front office consider breaking that rule again this winter?

Among the free-agent pitchers seeking multiyear contracts: Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez, Ervin Santana and Ricky Nolasco.

"We don't have any hard and fast rules," Amaro said. "I mean, the shorter the better, but that doesn't always work out . . . We have to try to be as open-minded as we can. We can't cut off any markets. But I don't know how realistic some of the markets are. But we'll keep our eyes open."

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese