Time to get creative

Despite all of the tough talk of the Phillies taking six starters into the season, Pat Gillick knows he needs to work a trade before the season begins. There should be plenty of demand for what the Phillies have to offer. Almost every team in baseball could use another legit starter on their roster. Still teams don’t want to buy what the Phillies are selling. It’s time for Pat Gillick to sweeten the pot.

The Houston Astros are counting on Roger Clemens to come back and save their rotation. I’m not crazy enough to presume to know if Clemens will play baseball and if he does for what team. Nevertheless if Clemens stays in Houston than the Astros will still have an unproven rookie as their fifth starter. The Astros could really use Jon Lieber to bolster their cause in a division with the World Series Champion Cardinals and a much-improved Chicago Cubs squad.

The Phillies need to make the offer that the Astros can’t refuse by pairing catcher Carlos Ruiz with Jon Lieber. The current Astros catcher Brad Ausms doesn’t have much value if he hits .230 like he did last season. Houston has no good catching prospects and could really use a young backstop with potential upside. Carlos Ruiz has some very solid numbers. In his past two seasons at the AAA level he hit over .300 with both power and speed.

In return the Phillies should ask for much maligned closer Brad Lidge. Two seasons ago Brad Lidge was the best closer in baseball. Last season the Astros yanked him back and forth between the closer and setup roles. Lidge could benefit from the stability of staying in the same role for the whole season. He could also be the hard throwing reliever the Phillies need to get to the next level.

Source:
Picture of Brad Lidge from mcall.com

More Rowand Trade Rumors

Another day and another Aaron Rowand trade rumor. Once again the gossip mill turns with news of a trade negotiations between the Phillies and White Sox. This most recent iteration of trade talks has Aaron Rowand going to the White Sox for Boone Logan. That leads Phillies Phans everywhere to ask the question, “Who the heck is Boone Logan?” That’s a very reasonable question given that Boone Logan has logged only 17.3 innings in the Majors and a 5.08 ERA in his minor league career.

On a radio show Tuesday when asked about a trade to the White Sox Rowand responded, “I don't know if I should disclose any of that information.” That’s quite an ominous comment for a player on the trading block.

This deal could happen if the White Sox were willing to part with a different reliever. White Sox setup man Mike MacDougal would fit nicely into the Phillies bullpen. Before the White Sox traded for MacDougal, he served as the Kansas City closer. MacDougal is a former all-star and the owner of a 3.62 ERA in 199 major league innings.

Assuming the Phils get a reliever in exchange for Rowand then a trade will only move the hole in their roster from the bullpen to the outfield. If Gillick can’t get a proven commodity like MacDougal than he shouldn’t move Rowand. A trade for any thing less than a stud would be a move of desperation.

Sources:
Rowand responds to Sox rumor
From Yahoo Sports

Rowand talk resurfacing
By Joe Cowley / Chicago Sun-Times

Picture of Aaron Rowand from sportsencyclopedia.com

The rumor mill keeps on turning

On the eve of pitchers and catchers reporting to Clearwater, the hot stove is still cooking in Philly. Both Aaron Rowand and Jon Lieber have continued to be mentioned in trade talks throughout the season. The Freddy Garcia trade gave the Phillies an extra starting pitcher, placing Jon Lieber squarely on trade block. The Phillies biggest need is in the bullpen and it was widely speculated that the Phillies would flip Lieber for a setup-man. Lieber is still a Phillie and Pat Gillick has commented in the past he won’t trade Lieber unless he thinks he’s getting value in return.

It still looks like a trade will happen. There are many teams looking to trade for starting pitching. However, there aren’t many teams who have enough depth in the bullpen to trade the quality of reliever the Phillies need. One possible solution to the Phillies relieving woes is Aaron Rowand. Rowand is a valuable player because of his golden glove, steady bat, and experience as a leader. Todd Zolecki brought up in his interview with the Phans blog that Gillick is an extremely creative GM and could orchestrate two trades. The first trade would send Rowand for a reliever and the second would move Lieber for a corner outfielder. Shane Victorino would then move from right to center field.

Ironically, every day that Lieber stays a Phillie the more likely it becomes the Phillies will trade him. Todd Zolecki also mentioned that other teams will lose starting pitchers and will feel pressure to make a trade for a starter. The injury parade started today when it was announced the Orioles Kris Benson has a torn rotator cuff and will miss the entire season recovering from the surgery. The Orioles signed a number of quality relievers this off-season including Danys Baez, Jamie Walker, and Chad Bradford. Perhaps Gillick could pry one of these relievers away for either Lieber or Rowand. If not, every day that passes ratchets up the pressure for GMs to improve their teams and make a move.

Sources:
Ben Palmer's Sports Rumors and Notes

First picture of Aaron Rowand form MLB.com

Rowand trade falls apart

The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that a trade involving Aaron Rowand and Scott Linebrink won’t go through for now. The fact that trade negotiations took place hadn’t actually been confirmed until Padres GM Kevin Towers announced the trade had been tabled.

The deal isn’t dead yet. Towers commented that, “It might be something we discuss again later this spring. But right now I want to see what we have in spring training. I want to see how (outfielder) Terrmel Sledge plays and how our bullpen shapes up.”

If the deal went through Linebrink would be the missing piece in the Phillies bullpen. Over his career Linebrink has compiled some impressive statistics pitching in 313 games with a 3.12 ERA. 2006 was a sub par for Linebrink who saw his opponents batting average jump about .030 from his career average. However, his other numbers including K/BB and K/9 stayed solid. The Phillies might be able to benefit in a trade from the perception that Linebrink is in decline. Linebrink a battle-tested reliever would serve as a fine set up man to Tom Gordon and could pitch in save situations if necessary. His presence would solidify what would be a very good bullpen.

This potential future deal presents some interesting scenarios for the Phillies. If Rowand left Philadelphia, Victorino would move from right to center and the Phillies would be a man down in the outfield. The Phillies like what current bench player Jayson Werth has to offer but don’t consider him a starter and the free agent market by this point of the off-season no longer has valuable players.

The Phillies still have trade chip Jon Lieber. There are several teams with poor starting pitching depth and available corner outfielders. One possible option is Kevin Mench who has been mentioned in trade talks with the Phillies in the past. Another possible trade could involve the Pirates and Xavier Nady. Both aren’t great options and would require the Phillies hypothetical trade partner to sweeten the pot with a prospect to get the deal done.

A Rowand for Linebrink swap could benefit the Phillies, but hopefully Pat Gillick will make sure they have a Lieber trade finished before they made their move. A Rowand trade by itself doesn’t really help the Phillies. It just moves the Phillies hole in their bullpen to their outfield.

Sources:
Linebrink-Rowand deal off for now
From San Diego Union-Tribune

Picture of Scott Linebrink from sportsillustrated.com

The search for a set up man

aThe Phillies have made many improvements this off-season. The 2006 rotation of Jon Lieber, Brett Myers, Cory Lidle, Ryan Madson, and Gavin Floyd has been overhauled. This year only Myers remains; Freddy Garcia, Cole Hamels, Adam Eaton, and Jamie Moyer join him. That rotation combined with an offense that led the National League in runs will make the Phillies in the words of Pat Gillick, “probably a better club than it was a year ago”.

The Phillies bullpen has not been a big part of that change. Struggling relievers Aaron Fultz, Arthur Rhodes, and Rick White won’t return. No one will miss these pitchers who often had a pension for allowing big numbers to make it onto the scoreboard. Despite this addition by subtraction the Phillies bullpen still has a big hole.

For the most part the shape of Phillies bullpen is set. Assuming the Phillies carry 12 pitchers with five starters they have seven roster spots for relievers. Tom Gordon will pitch the ninth inning closing out games for the Phillies. Geoff Geary could pitch in the eighth inning, but is better suited for a role pitching in the seventh. Ryan Madson who pitched poorly as a starter will return to pitching in sixth and seventh innings where he has had much greater success. Left-handed Matt Smith has a nasty slider and will serve as a good left handed specialist. Rule five draft picks Alfredo Simon and James Warden will be given a shot to pitch in blowouts. That leaves one spot for a set up man. The Phillies would like to find a dependable reliever with closing experience. When Tom Gordon went down last year with an elbow injury the Phils bullpen struggled without a clearly defined closer. Given Gordon’s age its reasonable to expect he could spend time on the DL in 2007. It's not a luxury for the Phillies to get another reliever it's a necessity.

There free agent pool has not free agents that peak the interest of the Phillies. The Phils do have a major trade chip in Jon Lieber. Trade talks have dried up with Texas, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee. Fortunately for the Phils dependable pitchers like Lieber are always in demand. Possible trade partners include the Cardinals, Twins, and Astros. All of those teams need starting pitching and have relievers to trade. The most likely trade partner is the St. Louis Cardinals. Out of all the Cardinal pitchers they have only three definite starters Chris Carpenter, Kip Wells, and Anthony Reyes. Adam Wainwright who closed at the end of the season could step into the rotation if Jason Isringhausen is healthy enough to be the closer. They have nowhere to go for starting pitching after Wainwright.

Despite their lack of starting pitch the Cardinals do have many healthy relievers including Braden Looper. Looper was pursued by the Phillies last off-season when he was a free agent. He has closing experience with the Marlins and Mets compiling 103 saves in his career. Looper pitched very well in a set up role for the World Series Champion Cardinals. Last year he had 9 wins and 3 losses with 3.56 ERA in 73 and a third innings. Looper would serve as an excellent set up man.

Sources:
Phillies Trade Conine to Reds
By Todd Zolecki / Philadelphia Inquirer

Pat Gillick the magician

The Phillies GM Pat Gillick is working hard to improve the Phillies roster. The stove has been heating up at the Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista Florida. The newest rumor has center fielder Aaron Rowand and Gavin Floyd or another pitching prospect going to the Chicago White Sox for Freddy Garcia, Javier Vazquez, or Mark Buehrle. It is rumored that the Phillies are targeting Garcia who pitched for the Mariners when Gillick was their GM from 2000-2003. The second move would send Jon Lieber to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielders Kevin Mench and former Phillies farm hand Derrick Turnbow or Jose Capellan. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer the Brewers deal is already done pending the completion of the deal with the White Sox.

The always-guarded Pat Gillick also commented again to the Inquirer that he is more optimistic today than he was Monday that he could acquire a starting pitcher. This deal makes a lot of sense from all the angles. The White Sox have the luxury of excess starting pitching and want Aaron Rowand back badly. Brian Anderson who was supposed to be Rowand’s center field successor on the south side of Chicago didn’t work out. Anderson hit a weak .225 at the plate. The White Sox also missed Rowand’s gritty style of play and club house leadership. The Brewers like every other team not named the Angels or White Sox need starting pitching.

But if these two deals go through I see the Phillies being the biggest winners. Any of the White Sox starting pitchers would improve the Phil’s rotation. With the return of Rowand to Chicago, Shane Victorino would play center field with Pat Burrell, Jeff Conine, and Kevin Mench splitting time in the corner outfield positions. The Phillies would also hypothetically get a reliever.

Derrick Turnbow could be a solid setup man for Tom Gordon. Turnbow’s season started off well making his first all-star team. However, after that his season went off the tracks ending with (cringe) 6.87 ERA. Yikes! I prefer to look at his stats from 2005 where he racked up 39 saves with a 1.70 ERA (that feels better). In reality Turnbow is not nearly as bad as 2006 and probably not as good as 2005. Turnbow could also benefit from the change in scenery and at the end of the day Turnbow can definitely outperform Arthur Rhodes and is a viable option as a closer if Gordon goes on the disabled list. So lets all keep of fingers crossed and hope the Magician Pat Gillick gets these deals done.

Sources:
Phils have a few deals in the works
by Ken Mandel / MLB.com

Gillick working of deal for starting pitcher
by Jim Salisbury / Philadelphia Inquirer

Where’s the relief?

At the beginning of the off season Pat Gillick knew the Phils could use another starter, protection for Ryan Howard, and a reliable eighth inning set-up man with closing experience. That final piece remains elusive for Gillick and essential for the Phillies success.

The Phillies do have a few solid bullpen pieces with Tom Gordon, Ryan Madson, Geoff Geary, and Matt Smith who will all be back next year. The main weakness of the pen was exposed when Gordon went on the DL last year leaving the Phillies without a closer. The Phillies have had trouble finding a reliable set-up man in recent years. Ranging from the enigmatic Tim Worrell, to the troubled Ugueth Urbina, to the ineffective Arthur Rhodes, the Phillies have not found any good solutions.

The free agent market is not full of good options for Gillick. Justin Speier and Danys Baez got crazy big contracts setting the stage for teams to overpay for relief pitching this off-season. The Phillies had shown interest Joe Borowski but backed out of contract talks after a recommendation from a team doctor. The Phillies have also sought in free agents David Weathers and Eddie Guardado. While both have closing experience both are closer to the twilight than the prime of their careers. Gillick might try to test the trade waters like he did last year when he acquired Arthur Rhodes for Jason Michaels. Whatever he does it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of relief coming next year for the Phillies.

Source:
Phillies back out of deal with Borowski after physical
by Jerry Crasnick / ESPN.com