Rosenthal: On the Phillies' Mentality at the Trade Deadline (plus: the Mike Adams Watch Begins)

Share

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal touches a few bases with respect to what the Phillies might do at the upcoming MLB trade deadline in his column today. Although rival clubs say the Phils are putting it out there that they can only add about $2 million in salary, the rest of the league has come to know that what we've seen from Ruben Amaro Jr in recent acquisition periods is likely to continue in some way later this month. No, they won't be adding another ace (at least, I doubt it). But they will do something.

Rosenthal quotes a rival GM as follows:

"They look at their model — if they don’t keep their foot on the pedal, it might go away," one GM says. "They've got a full house every night. They don't want the spigot to get turned off. There is always that question — do you have the discipline to say, 'This is our team?' "

Although the Phils are in first place and no one likes to see the prospect cupboard rendered barren, most if not all fans are looking for Rube to make a move to shore up either or both of their bullpen and right-handed bat needs. Rosenthal says they'd prefer to add players that aren't just half-season rentals, and the most intriguing current lead comes in the reliever area, where some possible Ryan Madson insurance could be available in San Diego's Mike Adams.

They've been linked heavily to a few San Diego Padres relievers, and Rosenthal points at a greater interest in the 32-year-old righty Adams than Heath Bell (the arbitration-eligible Adams gives them a year of insurance if Madson leaves for a lucrative "top reliever on the market" deal in the upcoming off-season). While Adams isn't the name Heath Bell is, his gaudy 0.71 WHIP and 41 K's in 42 innings pitched are pretty attractive. In his last three seasons, Adams hasn't had an opposing batting average over .200.

Nearly all of Adams' numbers are better than those of Bell this season, and his price tag is lower.

As such, the Padres may place a high value on Adams; he can be their closer should they move Heath Bell, and in any case, he's not just a middle of the road reliever. This is the time of year where solid bullpen arms have a whole lot of value as contenders like the Phillies don't want to lose the wins of their aces on the arms of fill-in relievers called up earlier in the week due to injuries to other relievers. That'll be especially true when the post-season rolls around and performances late in close games mean the difference between the success and failure of an entire season's payroll investment.   

Rosenthal's got a few more choice bits over at Fox Sports worth a click this AM. I particularly liked the part about the sons of Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols playing in the same little league tournament last week. 

We'll be back shortly with a look at today's rubber match between the Phillies and Mets that they'd better goddamn win.

Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel-US Presswire

Contact Us