Philadelphia Phillies: John Mayberry Jr’s Hot Streak Shows His Potential

What has gotten into John Mayberry Jr.?

Since he was called back up to the majors on July 5, he has been batting .316 with two home runs and seven RBI.

To put this in perspective, for the entire season, including this hot July, he is batting .252 with five home runs and 24 RBI.

He has played in 51 games so far this season.

To give you some averages, his batting average is obviously .252, his average number of home runs per game is approximately 0.10, and he drives in an average of 0.47 runs per game.

If these averages were representative of how he is performing right now, then in the six games that Mayberry has been back in the major leagues, his batting average during this stretch should be .252, and he should have hit 0.6 home runs and driven in 2.82 runs.

The actual statistics exceeded these averages by a large margin.

Obviously, I realize that fractional statistics like these are impossible. He would either hit zero, one, two, etc., home runs.

One possible reason that he has exceeded these averages is that he is simply hot right now. Players have hot streaks all of the time, so Mayberry may just be on a roll.

Another possible reason is that he is perhaps maturing as a hitter. Sometimes, it does take a player being sent down to Triple-A for him to really regain his swing.

I will not deny that he is hot right now. I’m not sure, however, that he can necessarily keep this up for a very long amount of time.

I do, though, think that this streak definitely shows that Mayberry has a lot of potential.

He was a first-round pick, so that never really was a surprise, but maybe it’s finally coming to light.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Ibanez and Mayberry Win 7-2 at Mets, Earn Fan Approval

Raul Ibanez and John Mayberry want to win.

Against the Mets. Over your affections.

Whatever odds are stacked, wherever criticism falls.

And in last night’s 7-2 win in New York, they were more than game for challenges, however lowly or lofty.

New York’s less competitive, more comical team wasn’t as tall an order. The Mets’ plus-.500 run lasted all of a month, since they were 42-42 on June 3, but they were never within arm’s reach of the Braves or Phillies, now 58-34 and always No. 1 in the National League East.

But the scathing and scorn and skittishness about how Ibanez and Mayberry didn’t just linger. It smothered so much you figure they’d have drowned by now.

“Yeah, I’m aware of that,” Mayberry told the Associated Press, about chatter and rumors and right-handed hitting.

It’s unforgiving to Ibanez because of his wages, Mayberry for his inconsistency. The only thing more repelling to fans in this town than unearned $11 million contracts is unfulfilled promises, frustrations Ibanez and Mayberry were always good for.

Or at least they used to be. Ibanez proved heroic and Herculean and clutch in one 11th-inning sizzler and helped pour it on in a blowout in two games against Atlanta before the break. You’d think 5-for-15 with two home runs and seven RBI in the series would do it.

“I like big, tall, lanky guys,” Manuel said.

Philly fans apparently don’t.

At least not Mayberry, still rapped on like a speed bag for fast and sharp tongues. Even after a .313 July and four RBI the day before the season paused. Even though he’s slugged for .842 on the month.

Detractors slugged back. Hard.

Maybe that’s what made their performance Friday empowering. It may register as a lowly win (and one of 98 and change, at the Phillies’ pace) and have come against humble opposition. But the effort resonates like the confidence and defiance and reassurance you couldn’t find on this roster with a heat-seeking GPS on a metal detector.

You have to warm to Mayberry’s two-RBI single in the second, which scored Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz, and double in the eighth worth three more for insurance.

“It was great to be able to come up with runners on a couple of times and even better to come up with a couple of hits,” Mayberry told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

You can’t help but gush over Ibanez’ solo homer off R.A. Dickey (4-8) in the sixth, to jerk the crowd from the lull of staunch pitching. That and the old guy extending in the field like he’s not a year from 40.

Punctuating two three-run frames like that is something this roster could use more of—almost as much as manufacturing runs from nothing. That’s what you got from Mayberry and Ibanez tonight.

But for all the buoyancy in Mayberry and Ibanez’ second-half debuts—they went 2-for-4 each with 5 RBI from Mayberry, one from Ibanez—the stars just sank.

Tweeners like Vance Worley (5-1) met expectation, and in Worley’s case, a haunting May outing in Citi Field head-on. Save for a nicking in the sixth, when one of the bases he loaded before getting yanked scored, Worley gave you what you wanted from his return to the bigs.

And then some, if you count his RBI ground-out in the second that shuffled in Domonic Brown, on top of Worley’s 5.1 innings of four-strikeout-and-walk dealing.

“I definitely wanted to finish that inning off,” Worley said to the Inquirer, still not stretched out like you’d like.

And for those glistening foreheads from Ryan Madson’s first outing since being reactivated from the DL: He was alright. Like, getting two of his three outs on swings in the seventh, “alright.”

But heat up that Heath Bell trade-talk stove. Between Madson and Antonio Bastardo showing command and Michael Stutes feeding doubts—with bumps like Carlos Beltran’s solo homer and a single and a walk, Stutes had as rocky an eighth inning as his last outing against Atlanta—that possibility is pruning from all the intrigue.

As for Rollins, Howard and Utley, you wish the first of their second halves were forgettable.

Sure, Howard showed patience. Utley hustled. You think Rollins tried.

But they still combined for an unforgivable 1-for-13. That’s just not enough.

Still, it’s only a game. Consider this serendipitous break-pumping.

Except for Mayberry and Ibanez.

I mean, come on. Even if it’s hot air, let’s give them at least a little gas.

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MLB Trade Rumors: Phillies Are Front-Runners for Padres Relievers’ Services

Earlier today, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the Philadelphia Phillies are currently the front-runners to acquire any of the San Diego Heath Bell, Mike Adams or Chad Qualls.

The Phillies, who have been looking for another bullpen arm or two due to injuries (Brad Lidge, Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson, who came off the DL earlier today) and struggling relievers (Danys Baez, David Herndon) will most likely do whatever they can to acquire either one of these arms to bolster their bullpen and make a World Series push.

This season, Bell is 2-3 with a 2.43 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP and has recorded 26 saves. He’d most likely close should he go to Philly, although he said that he would set up if asked if traded to a team this season. Bell, who makes $7.5 million in his final season before becoming a free agent, could cost a little more than the Phillies can afford, unless the Padres engulf some of his salary, which would probably mean they would receive a top prospect in return.

Adams, who has gone 3-1 this year with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP, has been the Padres’ best reliever this season. However, due to the fact that he’s still under team control through next season and comes at the low price of $2.535 million this season, he could demand a better prospect than Bell.

Qualls would be a decent fit in Philly as well. This season, he’s 4-3 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He probably wouldn’t demand as much in return prospect-wise due to the fact that his stats aren’t as good as those of Bell and Adams, and he only costs $1.5 million this season with a cheap $1.05 million buyout on his $6 million club option next season.

Regardless of how this ends up, it looks like the Phillies will make a strong push to get one of San Diego’s bullpen arms, and that will be sure to give the Philllies more of an edge to win the NL East and potentially even the World Series. One of these guys, along with Ryan Madson, Antonio Bastardo and Michael Stutes would practically be unhittable.

Also check out:

Phillies Trade Rumors: 5 Relievers They’re Looking at to Shore Up the Bullpen

Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Moves They Could Make as Buyers or Sellers This July 

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Philadelphia Phillies: The Curious Case of Joe Savery

The Philadelphia Phillies have just promoted Joe Savery to Lehigh Valley for the second time in his career.  Ordinarily, people do not applaud a former first-round pick for making it to Triple-A.  Then again, there is nothing ordinary about Joe Savery.  He is trying to achieve something very few have ever done—reach the Major Leagues as both a hitter and pitcher.

During his five years in the organization Savery has gone from highly touted pitcher to complete bust to potentially serviceable bat and now hybrid reliever/pinch hitter.  In many ways, it has been a long, strange journey for the former top prospect.  That journey is not over yet, as he has still yet to attain his ultimate goal—a trip to Philadelphia.  Even at the current incomplete juncture, this is still a story worth recounting.

It began in 2007 when the Philadelphia Phillies selected All-American Joe Savery out of Rice University with their first-round selection in the MLB draft.  Despite still having a year of college eligibility, Savery signed with the Phillies for $1.3 million.  At the time, the pick was considered risky but potentially a steal.  This is because Savery was about a year removed from arm surgery and had not quite returned to his National Freshman of the Year form.  Prior to the injury, the left-hander was viewed as one of the top pitchers in his draft class.

Unlike many first-rounders, Savery signed right away and played well the rest of the summer in the New York-Penn League.  The following season, he was assigned to play High-A Ball in Clearwater.  Over the course of the next few years, Savery would perform at very mediocre levels. However, it was always just well enough to earn promotions to the next level.

 

This all culminated in 2010 in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where it became abundantly clear that Savery’s arm would never return to its past form, and that he simply did not have the stuff to get more advanced hitters out.  Savery now seemed destined to be forever lumped in as another Phillies draft bust along with the likes of Reggie Taylor, Brad Brink and Jeff Jackson.

Then, remembering Savery’s stellar college bat or perhaps even just finding the Phillies’ scouting report on him from his high school years, the Iron Pigs decided to hand him a bat.  After all, at this point he was a sunken cost for the organization, so why not see if he could still hit?

And hit he did.  Despite a four-year layoff from being a regular hitter, Savery managed to post very respectable numbers in Triple-A.  He performed well enough that the Phils decided he was worth fully re-exploring as a bat.  So at the start of the 2011 season, he was sent back to High-A ball in Clearwater where he would get the opportunity to show off his bat as an everyday first baseman.

In Clearwater, Savery started out on fire.  He was hitting pitching with such ease it seemed he was making a mockery off the league.  Eventually he would cool off, but not before he ultimately earned a promotion to Double-A.

At this point, there was a lot of chatter about Savery. There were questions whether he could continue to hit at higher levels in the system.  People wondered if he would be capable of playing positions other than first base, as would be necessary with Ryan Howard manning the first base position in Philadelphia.  All in all, he had gotten a lot of people to take notice of him and garnered some excitement, as people were enjoying his career rejuvenation.

 

Then something funny happened.  Reading started using him as both a hitter and a reliever.  Assistant General Manager Chuck Lamar said this was the Phillies’ plan all year, to get him re-acclimated to hitting and then ease him back into a bullpen role as well.  Lamar said the goal was to get Savery in the game twice a week as a reliever and let him DH the remaining the games.

Savery responded with flying colors.  In fact, one could say he responded better than anyone could have hoped.  The same pitcher who had just bombed out of Triple-A a year early with a fastball in the mid-80’s was now bringing the heat in the low to mid-90’s.  The same guy who struggled to get batters out had now become dominant on the hill.  Suddenly, Savery appeared to have a future on the mound again.

So that brings us to where Savery currently stands, back in Triple-A. He recently made his 2011 pitching debut for Lehigh Valley where he went two innings, allowing one hit and striking out one as well.  This will be the real test for Savery.  Can he continue to strike out batters at a high rate like he did in Reading?  Can he continue to limit his walks and hits?  If so, he may have a future in the Major Leagues as a lefty specialist.

But do not forget his bat. Savery has a career .288 batting average and .738 OPS in the minors.  While he has dabbled at first base and left field, he is very much a man without a position.  Yet if he can continue to swing the stick like that, he may have a future as a pinch hitter.

 

Imagine what Charlie Manuel could do with a reliever/pinch hitter.  Savery could pinch hit and then stay in the game to pitch.  Or he could pitch, stay in to hit for himself and then be lifted for a new pitcher.  It would be like adding an extra pinch hitter to the bench.  The Phillies could even bring him in for a lefty batter, move him to left field for a right-handed batter and then bring him back to the mound to face another lefty.  However unlikely, that move is one of many possibilities the Phillies are on the precipice of should Savery make it to the show.

These next few months could make or break Savery’s Phillies career because Lehigh Valley is now all that stands between him and Philadelphia.  While he may never live up to the potential that got him selected in the first round, he has come a long way.  Teams generally hope to get more than just a pinch hitter or a left-handed specialist out of a top draft pick, but that is where Savery currently stands.

Then again, almost nobody has ever tried to make it to the Majors as a hitter and a pitcher simultaneously.  Rick Ankiel made it separately as a pitcher and later as hitter.  Brooks Kieschnick made it doing both roles; however, he made it as a hitter and only later added pitching to his arsenal to stay in the Majors.

Savery is looking to do both at the same time in order to debut in the majors. I, for one, am rooting for him to make it.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Heath Bell and 5 Potential Trade Candidates

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves look to be the only teams contending for the National League East crown in 2011. The New York Mets are 11 games back of the Phillies, who are 57-34.

With the trade deadline looming on July 31, should the Phillies pick up another bullpen arm, or possibly a right-handed bat?

Deadline deals can really put a team over the top, but they can also mess up the team’s chemistry. That is a risk you must deal with.

The Phillies should be shopping for a player or two in the coming weeks. Here are five players that they should strongly consider.

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Ghosts of Phillies Past: Cole Hamels and Shane Rawley

Not much Phillies action this past week with the All-Star break giving them four days off.  Naturally, my choice of featured Phillie for this week will be one of the three pitchers named to the All-Star team.

Featured Phillie of the Week: Cole Hamels

Hamels was deservedly selected to the NL’s All-Star pitching staff. He had an outstanding first half of the season, going 11-4 with a 2.32 ERA. And since his disappointing first start of the season, when he was knocked around by the Mets, he has arguably been the best pitcher in the league. 

Up to this season, Hamels has had a mostly great career—highlighted by his 2008 season when he was the World Series MVP. However, due to several factors, his 2009 season was sub par.

As I talked about here, in 2010, he seemed determined to improve himself, and by season’s end, Hamels was performing like one of the best pitchers in baseball. That success has carried over to 2011. 

The 2011 version of Hamels seems far removed from what we saw in 2009. He now has four dependable pitches—including his awesome changeup—and the requisite mental toughness to go along with it. 

He closed out the first half in top form by shutting down the Braves in the final game before the break. He went eight innings, only giving up three hits and one run. Backed by a rare offensive outburst, he was able to cruise to an easy victory.

Unfortunately, due to a Major League Baseball rule, by pitching the final game before the break, he was ineligible to appear in the All-Star Game. Hamels was disappointed by this, saying that Tuesday was his day to throw in the bullpen anyway, so there was no reason for him not to be eligible to pitch.

Regardless, the National League was able to win without him, thanks in part to the contributions of his fellow aces Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.

Ghost of Phillies Past: Shane Rawley

For my Ghost of Phillies Past, I will take a look at another Phillies left-hander who once made an All-Star Game.

Shane Rawley came to the Phillies in 1984 in a trade with the Yankees. He had experienced moderate success in the American League, and he seemed like he might be a budding star.

He fit in nicely in the Phillies rotation behind Steve Carlton, and for the next couple of seasons, as Carlton’s career trailed off, he seemed to be emerging as the team’s new ace.

In 1986, he earned a trip to the All-Star Game, and in 1987, he became the first Phillie besides Carlton to be the team’s opening day starter since 1971.

Just as it looked like he was reaching the pinnacle of his career, things went downhill quickly.  He had an amazing start to the 1987 season, but dropped off severely in the second half. His biggest problem appeared to be lack of control, as he was annually among the league leaders in walks allowed.

The career tailspin continued in 1988 as he went a disappointing 8-16 for a last place Phillies team.

In that offseason, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins for three players, most notably second baseman Tom Herr. Sadly, the switch to the American League didn’t help turn around his career.  After a 5-12 season, Rawley’s major league career came to an end.

Final Analysis

Hamels has already had a better career than Rawley, being named to two All-Star teams and earning a World Series MVP. He has experienced difficulty in his career and worked past it. Now that he is entering the prime of his career, it would be shocking if he suffered a breakdown similar to Rawley’s. 

I fully expect him to continue to be one of the league’s best pitchers.

Originally published on my blog: Stranger in a Strange Land

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Philadelphia Phillies: Ryan Howard and the 10 Best First Basemen in Team History

During his magnificent 18-year career, Mike Schmidt played mostly third base and some shortstop.

In 1985, the Phillies moved him to first base to give 23-year-old Rick Schu an opportunity to start at third. The experiment didn’t last a full season, and Philadelphia traded him to Baltimore in 1988.

Pat Burrell started his career at first base due to an injury to opening day starter Rico Brogna.

“Mr. Five for One” Von Hayes played the outfield mostly during his tenure with the Phils, but from 1986-1988, he started a majority of his games at first base.

Some other notable names who played some part-time first base include Dick Allen, Ed Delahanty, Nap Lajoie, Willie Montanez and Dave Hollins.

 

MORE FROM ADRIAN FEDKIW

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Phillies Trade Rumors: 5 Relievers They’re Looking at to Shore Up the Bullpen

The Phillies have been absolutely fantastic this season, and if having the best record in the majors at 57-34 doesn’t show how good they’ve been this season, let’s look at what has: their starting pitching.

While the Phillies’ offensive numbers have been lower than expected at the start of the season, the pitching rotation has been nothing but exceptional. Their 2.93 team-ERA is the best in the majors, as is their BB/9 rate (1.82), their starters’ combined WAR (15.4), and their FIP (2.87). Their K/9 rate and IP are also good for third in the majors (7.75 and 598.1, respectively).

Their relievers’ stats, on the other hand, aren’t so good.

In fact, the Phillies have the NL’s worst bullpen K/9 rate at 7.38. While that’s among their worst stats, none of the others previously mentioned are even close to matching up to their counterpart starters’: the Phils’ team bullpen ERA is sixth in the NL at 3.24, their bullpen FIP is 12th in the NL at 3.88, their bullpen WAR is 11th in the NL at 1.1, and their BB/9 rate is 14th in the NL at 4.06.

Based upon these stats, it’s evident that the Phillies need some bullpen help. And while they have some deep bullpen talent in the minor leagues (Justin De Fratus and Phillippe Aumont, for example), many of those guys won’t be able to help until the end of the season, if they’re even available this season at all.

This means only one thing: the Phillies must look for outside help for their bullpen.

And that means they must trade for a relieving arm or two.

Let’s face it: between injury-prone closers (Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge, and Jose Contreras) and guys who just can’t seem to get the job done (Danys Baez, David Herndon), there are a quite few holes to fill in the Phillies’ bullpen.

While a few guys have been bright sparks in a dim bullpen (Madson, Antonio Bastardo, Michael Stutes, and Juan Perez as of late) this season, a contending team like the Phillies will need to add some bullpen arms if they plan on remaining in first place in the NL East, what with the Braves’ great rotation and their fantastic bullpen.

While it might be difficult for the Phillies to add a ‘pen arm to their relief corps this year due to the Phils’ close proximity to the luxury tax threshold, we’ve seen in the past that Ruben Amaro, Jr. isn’t afraid to make a move, and he’ll get it done in most any way possible. 

Here are five guys whom the Phillies could go after should he acquire another bullpen arm for the Phillies. 

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MLB Trade Speculation: Phillies Could Find Value in Heath Bell’s Persona, Arm

In just 10.2 seconds, 100 yards, a comical slide and a few divots of Chase Field, and I was sold.

The Phillies need Heath Bell. 

The guy is a complete clown, evidenced no more than his All-Star Weekend antics. Dude perched along the first base fence pregame, doling out obscure mementos and soaking in kids’ awkward responses. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 14-year-old so horrified of Yoda.

Then he jetted from the bullpen in the eighth, puffing out his kidding chest to the FOX cameraman who raced him for as long as he could before keeling over. (They both did.)

Like watching Usain Bolt wearing a tire against a bionic Tyson Gay.

Priceless.

As could that presence be in the locker room, likely to be stuffy and tense as the second half rolls on.

I’m serious: Think of the pressure looming over this team.

They’re prohibitive favorites to win the pennant, up 3.5 games up on the Braves in the division, and head above the waters of a shallow National League field. Who’s catching them?

Who even thinks anyone can?

They’ve been leveraged as win-now, between the $40 million wrapped up in Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels (whose contract expires at year’s end, when he becomes arbitration eligible) and $20 million in Ryan Howard. Ruben Amaro is pressed up against the luxury tax glass, peering through it so hard it’s bound to break.

All those stressors are magnified if it does.

Either way, the Phils’ window doesn’t belong in a McMansion. It would more easily fit in an attic.

And it’s closing.

That pressure is going to go over like Seth Meyers at the ESPY’s: bearable for a while, but more bothersome than anything.

How refreshing would it be, then, to inject character? Not character, like, “company man,” reverent and reliable character. And not Brian Wilson.

More like a boardwalk caricature your Broad Street boppers can laugh with.

You know the team could use it. You don’t get that from cement-faced Halladay and Lee, so stern for so often, you wonder if stoicism triggers something in their contracts. And you don’t want that from Hamels, who’s finally realized ace potential, (even if it’s at No. 3) but whose focus is too tenuous to tamper with.

Howard might charm the pants off a Subway marketing exec, but not this locker room. And with the offense disappointing throughout the spring and early summer, that’s not where you want Howard’s effort. Same goes for Shane Victorino, the closest thing the Phillies have to a top performer who doubles as a jokesmith.

But this isn’t all grounded by some quirky social experiment.  With a 2.46 ERA, 27 strikeouts in 27 save opportunities, only one of which he’s blown, Bell is as sturdy on the mound as any.

He’s even likely to improve. Bell’s ERA tightened up on the road, where he’s thrown a 1.86 in a perfect 15-for-15 save opportunities, struck out 12 and allowed only three runs. And that was for the bottom-scraping Padres, 40-52 and fifth in the National League West.

Imagine what he’d do for a contender, let alone these front-running Phils.

Probably what Matt Holliday did after his 2009 trade from Oakland to St. Louis: Shake a career-worst lull and post the best 63-game stretch of his career in batting average (.353), slugging (.604), and OPS (1.023), the renaissance you expect from guys playing games that mercifully matter.

And I get that there doesn’t seem a vacancy, let alone need, given the crowded bullpen. But there are as many shreds of doubt as suffocating promise, given the youth and fragility.

Nobody trusts or wants Brad Lidge, but have Antonio Bastardo’s 33 first-half innings shown you enough to let Ryan Madson walk in free agency? Has Madson even plead a strong enough case, even after 15-of-16 saves in the first half?

Does Michael Stutes preclude you from stocking yourself with options?

That’s what Bell the player offers: Flexibility. Why not load up on relief pitching if you can, prolonging tough and pricey decisions ’till December?

Like what you see, offer Bell a deal this winter, when his contract expires. Can’t decide between Bell, Madson and Hamels, throw all three in the cart (my suggestion) and check out.

If it doesn’t work, at least you tried.

And tried hard, having acquired a right-handed bat, too. Ryan Ludwick is must-have throw-in to any Heath Bell deal, like shopping at Costco over a few retail outlets. It’s easier, and cheaper, cutting out paperwork and last-second tack-ons you’d find at multiple stops.

At worst, there would be only one.

That might mean Vance Worley, who I’d shield over “Baby Aces” Jared Cosart, Trevor May or Brodie Colvin. But this deal needs to happen, even if it’s expensive.

That’s a price you eat, given Amaro’s prevailing corporate strategy. Major League Baseball Network could feature Ruben Amaro in the Hoarders: Front-Office Edition premier, this team is so now-loaded.

I’ve lobbied for tempering short- and long-term strategies closer toward the middle, fortifying the 2011 roster but leaving plenty left for later.

But that’s not how this team has been built. And Amaro, according to Jayson Stark on 97.5 The Fanatic yesterday, is already more-than-flirting with bringing in Bell, who’s already warm to the city and compatible with the locker room.

And the fans long had their minds made, wanting what they want, right-handed batting and relief pitching, and now.

As for the punchline, personified, with a 95 m.p.h. follow-up?

Something’s telling me they’ll live with that, too.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Moves They Could Make as Buyers or Sellers This July

Now that the All-Star Break has ended, there is one big thing left to watch for in baseball in July: trades.

Since Ruben Amaro, Jr. has taken over as Phillies general manager following the team’s World Series championship in 2008, he has been the backbone behind many of the team’s big splashes near the July 31 trade deadline.

In 2009, he traded minor league prospects Lou Marson, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, and Jason Knapp to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for pitcher Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco.

Last season, though he himself did not do this deal (Phillies president Dave Montgomery dealt with Houston alone), the Phillies acquired ace Roy Oswalt from the Houston Astros for pitcher J.A. Happ and two prospects, outfielder Anthony Gose and shortstop Jonathan Villar (Gose was then traded by the Astros to the Toronto Blue Jays for first baseman Brett Wallace).

Regardless of who has been behind these big deals that have boosted the team’s depth, namely in starting pitching, the Phillies have been a team to reckon with at the trade deadline in July. They have learned how to get a deal done and how to do it right.

Although the Phillies do not need to acquire another starting pitcher this year, there is always the possibility that they could trade for someone big or small. The Phillies could make a splash by acquiring someone the likes of Jose Reyes of the Mets, or a less notable reliever to strengthen the bullpen.

Here in July, anything is possible for this Phillies team, although Amaro has said that he doesn’t expect to make any big deals this year. Though earlier in the season he hinted that he plans on making a big trade this year, so either way such discussions are arising…

However, there are also a few players who the Phillies could attempt to sell at the trade deadline.

Joe Blanton, the Phillies’ fifth pitcher and their only “non-ace,” could be a very nice option for other teams looking for pitchers. Since Blanton would be a second or third starter on most other teams, his abilities could come in handy to a team looking for a starting pitcher, especially since the upcoming free-agent market is slim in starting pitching depth, with little behind current Texas Rangers lefty C.J. Wilson.

The problem with Blanton is his salary. According to Cot’s, he is expected to make at least $17 million through this season and the next (more than that if Blanton meets incentives).

But, of course, there’s that small problem that he’s had a couple of stints on the DL this year, and now that he’s out at least through the end of the month, he could lose some trade value if any was left at all.  

Another option is 39 year-old left-fielder Raul Ibanez.

Ibanez could provide some power to a club that needs another outfielder or even a DH. Although he has emerged out of his hitting slump, he is getting older and may be reaching the point where he can’t play every day anymore. The other problem is that, like Blanton, he’s due a good amount of money this season—$11.5 million to be exact—and what’s more is that he has no-trade protection.

If either Blanton, Ibanez, or someone else along those lines were to be dealt, the Phillies might have to eat a good chunk of their remaining salaries in order to get some deals done.

I should mention that this isn’t your average, Joe-Schmoe trade deadline slideshow that names targets the team will acquire or players the team will deal. It’s very different.

This slideshow is an in-depth analysis of 10 possible trades: five in which the Phillies will be acquiring a key player (and/or minor league prospects), and five in which the Phillies will be dealing a key player (and/or minor league prospects).

This slideshow will present not only the players involved, but if any minor league players and/or cash is involved, player names will be specific and cash will be included. 

And when I say in-depth, I mean in-depth. These are extremely long slides, and there are 10 deals that are explored, so if you plan on reading all of this, I warn you: it will take a long time.

Here’s how each slide is going to work: it will talk about the key player mentioned in the deal, followed by their appeal to either team involved. Minor league players will also be described in-depth, but they will be described more as how they can/will benefit its receiving organization in the coming years.  

Some names may be tossed around more than once, though I’ll try to keep things to minimal repetition. In addition, some of these possible trades may seem impossible, but as we’ve seen from Ruben the past two years, anything can happen. And one last thing: not all of the following trades are realistic, but they are just deals that could happen, albeit by a long shot.

So, without any further ado…

*Statistics courtesy of any of the following: Yahoo! Sports: MLB, ESPN.com, MLB.com, MiLB.com, FanGraphs.com and Baseball-Reference.com. Salaries courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Begin Slideshow

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