As many of you might know, there are a lot of starting pitchers who either are, or are expected to become available for trades. Since Day 1 we have known that starting pitching was a weak point for us. That was even with the assumption that Brett Myers might be able to pitch a little. Jamie Moyer has been more than a pleasant surprise while Adam Eaton has done what I expected. Adding another #1 or 2 guy to go along with Cole Hamels could be huge for the Phillies.
So far the Phillies have asked about CC Sabathia (CLE), AJ Burnett (TOR), Bronson Arroyo (CIN), and Jarrod Washburn (SEA). I think that whoever reported Washburn made a mistake. Most likely they were looking into newly available Erik Bedard. Washburn is terrible. The problem is that the Phillies don’t really have the farm system to go out and get guys. They have Carrasco and Bastardo and that’s about it. To get a guy like Sabathia, Burnett, or Bedard, they would most likely have to give up both those guys. Sabathia could still become a free agent at the end of the season so it would be stupid to give up the farm just for his arm for a couple months.
I say we go after a lower profile guy who wouldn’t cost as much and just try to better the rotation in a whole by strengthening the bottom of it. But don’t be surprised if the Phillies make a move in the next week. I have heard that Ryan Freel (OF) is being looked at by many teams, Phillies included. Also Tim Redding (SP, WAS) might be a name to consider.
