Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Ways Wrapping Up Division Early Could Doom Them

For the Philadelphia Phillies, the goal for the season has been accomplished: to win their fifth straight NL East division title. They did so last Saturday, led by a Raul Ibanez grand slam and nine total runs of support for Roy Oswalt to give the team a 9-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Although the champagne celebrations were fun to watch, the team hasn’t been since. They’ve lost five games in a row since then, consisting of the last two games of their four game series to the Cardinals and three to their division rivals, the Washington Nationals. In those five games, the Phillies have scored just 11 runs total, whereas the opposition has scored 23 runs. And in their last 10 games, the Phillies are 4-6.

While the Phillies are still most likely on their way to having the best record in the majors (or at least the NL) by the season’s end, their production right now and total attitude towards passing their team-record 101 wins has seemed to diminish. In order for the Phils to be successful in the postseason, they need to start winning again so it doesn’t seem foreign to them come the NLDS.

Despite being an optimist, sometimes I have to play devil’s advocate, and unfortunately, this is one of those times.

So, without further ado, I pessimistically present to you five ways why the Phillies winning the NL East could bring them their demise in the playoffs.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 25 Things They Must Figure Out Before End of Season

The Philadelphia Phillies are on a roll. They’re the best team in the majors at 94-50 and their magic number to claim their NL East division title for the fifth straight year is five, the lowest in any division in baseball.

Since day one of spring training, Phillies fans have been anticipating the season and what it would bring.  Their ace-studded rotation consisting of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt has lived up to the hype despite Vance Worley taking the place of the oft-injured Oswalt.

While the question of right fielder Jayson Werth’s replacement has been answered, albeit with the initially-unexpected Hunter Pence, there are still many lingering questions that the Phillies and their fans want answered by the end of the season. Whether on or off the field, these questions must be answered, and today we’ll try our best to answer them as accurately as possible.

Here are 25 questions the Phillies must figure out before the end of the season.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Why Vance Worley Is Here to Stay

For the Philadelphia Phillies this season, the injury bug has taken the team by storm. Nagging injuries to pitchers, such as Joe Blanton, Brad Lidge, Jose Contreras, Ryan Madson, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels, and everyday starters, like Chase Utley, Placido Polanco, and Jimmy Rollins, have created roster issues for the Phillies.

Who to bring up from the minors, who to start in place of an injured player, and so on, have made it extremely difficult at times for the Phillies to come up with replacements, despite their lack of experience or production.

However, there has been a bright spot or two, and one of them has been rookie pitcher Vance Worley. Originally called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make a spot start for the injured Blanton on April 29, Worley, now known by Phillies fans and teammates alike as the “Vanimal,” has unexpectedly become a permanent member of the Phillies rotation.

While Blanton did make his way back to the rotation and started two more times, he was sent back to the DL after on May 16, and he hasn’t been on the mound since.

Although Worley was sent back down to Triple-A in May after losing two straight starts, receiving a no decision in one and a loss in the other, Worley was recalled for a June 18 start and he hasn’t looked back. Since then, the Phillies have won his last 13 starts, the most in a row for any pitcher in five years.

Worley is no temporary fill-in. He’s now a part of the Phillies. And here’s why. 

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Philadelphia Phillies Trade Rumors: 5 Pipe Dream Waiver Wire Deals

Trade rumors? In August? You’ve got to be kidding me, right?

No, I’m not kidding you.

With just one full day remaining before the August 31 waiver trade deadline, teams scrambling to get last-minute outside help will surely be searching through the waiver wire to find the players they’re looking for. Unfortunately for some teams, this isn’t always possible, due to the process of claiming a player off of waivers: The worst teams get highest priority, and the best teams get lowest priority.

Big-name waiver acquisitions are somewhat rare for any team. Not only would the claiming team on a big-name player such as Ryan Howard or Roy Halladay have to trade a plethora of talent to get them, but they only have two days to negotiate a deal. That’s why it’s more common to see either average starters or backups of all sorts go to other teams via the waiver wire.

However, if a player clears waivers—meaning no team claimed him—he is available to be traded to any team as long as the deal occurs before the deadline. But with all players, it’s important to know that any player claimed after August 31 is not eligible for a spot on a team’s postseason roster.

A team that could be looking for some players is the Philadelphia Phillies. Because the Phillies hold the best record in baseball at 83-46, they are the last team able to claim players off waivers. While it’s a good problem to have, it’s a problem nonetheless. If the Phillies are to make any deals at all through waivers, it would undoubtedly be for a low-market player, such as Mike Sweeney last year, or someone lesser known.

Even though the Phillies would love to claim a player along the lines of Lance Berkman—who somehow cleared waivers—it would be practically impossible, though we can dream, can’t we?

Currently, the Phillies’ biggest gaps are at the left side of the infield (due to injuries of Jimmy Rollins and the ailing Placido Polanco) and a left-handed bat off the bench (due to Ross Gload’s nagging torn hip labrum).

With that, here are five players who, if unrealistically acquired, could make the Phillies’ waiver dreams come true. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: Ranking Who They’d Most Like to Play in the Postseason

The Philadelphia Phillies are a force to be reckoned with this season. With a rotation consisting of four aces in Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt (and arguably Vance Worley) and an All-Star studded lineup that got even better with the July addition of outfielder Hunter Pence, there is little stopping the Phillies from going the distance and winning it all.

However, we have seen in the past that it’s not always as easy as it might seem. Last season, the Phillies had the best record in the majors at 97-65, a first for the team. But in the end, they were unable to defeat the San Francisco Giants, who made the playoffs only because the Atlanta Braves defeated the Phillies on the last day of the regular season, in last year’s NLCS, and the Giants went on to defeat the Texas Rangers in five games to win the World Series.

Phillies fans’ memory of Ryan Howard with his jaw dropped following striking out looking to Giants closer Brian Wilson to give the Giants the NL Pennant is one that we would like not to remember, but also one we can’t forget just yet. Fans last season were all anticipating reaching (if not winning) the World Series last year and becoming the first NL team to win the league pennant for three consecutive years since the St. Louis Cardinals did so from 1942-1944.

However, there is little reason to think that the Phillies have lost hope this season. They currently hold baseball’s best record at 83-44 and are on pace to win 106 games this season, and they lead their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves, by 6.5 games. Having lost only a couple of series since the month of June, the Phillies have little preventing them from winning their fifth straight NL East division title, aside from a four-game road series against the Milwaukee Brewers and a series or two against the Braves in September, although there isn’t a huge reason to think there would be a problem…or is there?

In recent memory, the Phillies have been a fantastic second-half team. But despite their winning ways, could the Phils face a setback sometime from now to the end of the season? They have already lost their shortstop Jimmy Rollins until at least early September, and first baseman Ryan Howard and left fielder Raul Ibanez are currently day to day. In addition, lefty ace Cole Hamels was recently placed on the DL, and while he is still scheduled to start next week on Monday, could he still be at risk of re-injuring himself?

The Phillies have 127 games in the books, but to stay on top for the remaining 35, it’s worth wondering whether the Phils can hold on here and beyond. Sure, the Phillies’ offense has been red-hot as of late (most likely due to the acquisition of Hunter Pence), but in past years the offense has become anemic in the postseason, which ultimately resulted in their loss to the Giants at the end of last year. There are some teams at this point that the Phillies would like to play more than others, both now and in the postseason, but it’s really the postseason that counts. As a virtual lock to make the playoffs, it’s worth taking note of who the Phillies hypothetically would prefer to play in October.

But before we can determine who they would like to face off against, we must look at the rest of the league and first determine who is even likely to make the postseason. 

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Philadelphia Phillies’ 5 Minor Leaguers Most Likely to Contribute in September

Well, the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline has passed, and the Phillies sure made a splash in acquiring Hunter Pence. It came at a high price, though—the Phils had to surrender their two top prospects, first baseman Jonathan Singleton and starting pitcher Jarred Cosart, along with pitcher Josh Zeid and a player to be named later. Fortunately, the Phillies did get $2 million cash from the Astros as well in order to cover Pence’s remaining salary, but more importantly, not surpass the $178 million luxury tax threshold.

Now that it’s August, transactions news has seemingly cooled—for now. Possible waiver trades could occur at any point before the August 31 waiver trade deadline, but once September comes rolling around, that’s when the real excitement begins. Teams will be battling for division titles and wild cards, and rosters will expand from 25 players to 40 at the major league level, meaning that in September, minor league players on the 40-man roster will get a chance to make a name for themselves in the limited time they have to do so.

However, there are some players on the 40-man roster than might not necessarily make it to the big leagues just yet, for a variety of reasons. They could be too young, inexperienced, injured, or simply just not ready to handle the major leagues just yet. So, while one or two of the following players listed will be on the 40-man roster, there might be a few who aren’t, but could be when rosters expand at the beginning of September.

This list is of players who have not yet made their major league debut either, so players like Scott Mathieson, Drew Carpenter and Mike Zagurski will not be included (not like they would necessarily contribute anyway).

Here are five minor league players who the Phillies could see contribute once September roster expansion arrives.  

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Philadelphia Phillies: Should Phils Consider Bringing Arthur Rhodes Back?

Left-handed relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes was designated for assignment last week to create room on the Texas Rangers‘ roster for newly-acquired setup man Mike Adams. The 41-year-old Rhodes, who signed a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Rangers this past offseason, has also reportedly been placed on release waivers, meaning that he will most likely become a free agent on Wednesday.

Rhodes has been nothing short of a journeyman throughout his career. Among the oldest active players in baseball (and one of few still playing in the bigs who was born in the 1960s), he has played for eight teams in his 20-season career: the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners (twice), Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, and the Rangers.

Over the span of his career, he’s posted an 87-69 record with a 4.08 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 881 games consisting of 81 starts. He’s also racked up 33 saves and has finished 160 games.

Rhodes has been an average player throughout his career, and this season has been a continuing trend of that: in 32 games this year, he’s posted a 3-3 record with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP in 24.1 innings pitched with one save and 10 games finished.

What’s attractive about him, though, is the fact that he is a left-handed relief pitcher, and he’s held left-handed hitters to batting just .216 against him this year. There are quite a few teams who could use him, such as the St. Louis Cardinals.

However, one team who could be a dark horse for his services could be one of his former clubs, the Phillies. The Phils, who have been short of a left-handed reliever since they released J.C. Romero, have since been looking for a replacement.

While they have tried out career minor-league pitcher Juan Perez, who hasn’t really added anything to the team this year, they recently sent him back down to the minors to make room for Roy Oswalt on Sunday, who was making his first start since coming off the DL due to bulging discs in his back.

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Gelb also considered the idea of signing Rhodes through the rest of the season, and he would be dirt-cheap, coming at the major-league minimum of $414,000 for the remainder of the year due to his release, meaning the Rangers are on the hook for the deal they signed him to, not the Phillies, so signing him means he most likely wouldn’t push the team over the luxury tax threshold.

Rhodes previously came to Philly in a trade with the Indians that sent Jason Michaels to Cleveland in return. During his lone year here in Philadelphia in 2006, Rhodes was nothing short of awful: in 55 games and 45.2 innings pitched, Rhodes went 0-5 with a 5.32 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. After the season Rhodes’ three-year contract ended, and the Phillies chose to let him walk, and for good reason, too.

However, Rhodes could be the kind of player who could turn out to be high-risk, high-reward. Aside from Antonio Bastardo, who has been phenomenal this year in the bullpen (5-0, 1.49 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, eight saves in 46 games, 42.1 innings pitched), the Phillies don’t have another southpaw to compliment Bastardo, let alone give him rest.

After all, he is only 25 years old, and wear and tear on a young arm like that of Bastardo can sometimes lead to disastrous results in the future (see Kerry Wood).

Since Bastardo is the only southpaw reliever currently on the team, he’s needed more than any other reliever, especially since the Phillies have had to use four relievers to close this season (Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Jose Contreras, and Bastardo) due to injuries of the other three aforementioned pitchers. And it shows: of all relievers on the team, Bastardo leads in appearances with 46, with Ryan Madson in second with 39.

Rhodes could be an impact player down the stretch, including during the postseason, should the Phillies acquire him before the August 31 waiver trade deadline. It’s not like he doesn’t have postseason experience, either: he’s pitched in 21 games (17.1 IP) in the postseason, although he has a high 4.67 ERA and unsightly 1.50 WHIP.

But with all high-risk, high-reward players, sometimes it just takes a little something like a change of scenery of motivation of being with the best team in baseball for the remainder of the year. Not that the Rangers were bad, it’s just that the Phillies are better. Just ask Cliff Lee.

It’s shown in the past for Rhodes that he’s pitched well with age as well—in fact, during his time with the Reds from 2009-2010, when he was age 39 and 40, respectively, Rhodes went 5-5 with a 2.41 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over those two seasons, having averaged 68 games each season and just 54.0 innings pitched. Impressive.

Should the Phillies choose to pursue Rhodes and bring him back to Philadelphia, he could be a huge mistake, too. The guy’s 41 years old and he hasn’t looked as sharp this season as he did the two prior with Cincinnati. But he’s also the kind of guy who could come at a relatively low price for a couple of months and could make a difference both down the stretch and into the playoffs. Rhodes could be an extremely huge risk—but he could very well be worth it in the end.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: Current Series vs. Giants Even More Crucial Than Last One

Last week, the Phillies played the reigning world champion San Francisco Giants in a three-game series at home here at Citizens Bank Park. Sadly for the Phillies, it was a repeat of their NLCS matchup the year before—the Phillies ended up losing the series, dropping two of the three games, handing the Giants the series win and boosting their confidence that they were in fact still the better team despite the Phillies having baseball’s best record at 71-39 and being a favorite to win it all this year.

Here’s how last week’s series went down: Game 1 was Phillies rookie Vance Worley against Giants overpaid-yet-underwhelming southpaw Barry Zito, whose start was pushed forward a day due to ace Tim Lincecum being sick with the flu.

Worley pitched his first complete game in his major-league career, allowing just two runs on just three hits in nine innings and earning the win. He also struck out five batters and walked just one.

Game 2 of the series was a rematch of Game 3 of the 2010 NLCS—Cole Hamels against Matt Cain. Unfortunately, despite Cain’s previous struggles against the Phillies, he ended up defeating Hamels like he did back in the playoffs, this time in a pitchers’ duel, with the Phillies losing 2-1, with the Phillies’ lone run being unearned.

And in spite of Hamels fanning six batters compared to just one for Cain, the Phillies lineup just couldn’t produce against the Giants, and with that, the series was tied at one game apiece.

In the rubber match, it was Phillies fifth starter Kyle Kendrick against Giants ace Tim Lincecum, who finally recovered from his sickness, and with the Giants’ acquisition of outfielder Carlos Beltran giving the team the offensive boost it had been longing for all season, Beltran made his debut as a Giant that night.

Although Beltran went 0-4, Lincecum was lights-out—he did give up four walks, but he also struck out six and held the Phillies to just three hits in six innings, with the Giants winning the game 4-1.

Kendrick gave up three of the four runs, walked two and fanned four in 6.1 innings. With that win, what served as the first series rematch since the NLCS went to the team that won both the NLCS and that series—the San Francisco Giants.

However, a few things have changed since the Phillies played San Francisco last week—to start, the Phillies made a trade of their own when they acquired Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros the day after the Giants left for Cincinnati, and since Pence debuted in Phillies pinstripes last Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies have yet to lose a game.

Pence has done hit part in the five-hole in the Phillies lineup, providing the right-handed bat the Phillies have needed and giving Ryan Howard, who’s been on an offensive tear since Pence came to town, the protection he’s needed behind him since Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals back in the offseason.

In addition, this series the Phillies will have ace Roy Oswalt back, who’s been on the DL since June 24 with some issues in his back regarding a couple of bulging discs. However, he’s made two rehab starts in the last week or so, and he’s allowed just two runs in each of them, also stating that he “felt no pain” and that he was ready to return to the major-league club. He’ll be starting Sunday.

Lastly, the Giants did not have the privilege to face the Phillies’ top two pitchers, Roy Halladay (who won’t face the Giants at all in the regular season this year) and Cliff Lee, which showed that if the Giants want to make a statement against the Phillies, they have to top their top pitchers before they can truly say they are the better team.

Speaking of which, the matchups are as follows: Lee will open the series and face the Giants for the first time since losing the World Series as a Texas Ranger, with struggling sophomore southpaw Madison Bumgarner opposing him. Friday will be Worley against Jonathan Sanchez, who will be making his first start since coming off the DL. Saturday will be another rematch of Hamels and Cain, and Sunday will be Oswalt against Lincecum. Talk about a great series.

It surely will be interesting to see what happens in this series. My guess is that Lee will win Game 1, Worley will continue his hot streak against the Giants and win Game 2, Hamels will bounce back and win Game 3, and Lincecum will win Game 4 against Oswalt, who will still need one more start before he settles into the rotation again.

That amounts to the Phillies winning three of four, but with the Phillies not losing a game since Pence was acquired, the Phillies could sweep the Giants in the four-game series. And boy, would that make a statement.

Now that the Phillies have their roster set with Pence, this series will be the true determining factor as to who would win a playoff series this year between the Phils and Giants. Before, the Phillies didn’t have Pence and the Giants didn’t face Halladay, Lee or Oswalt.

With Lee and Oswalt slated to start in this series, this is the time to see whether the Phillies or Giants truly trump the National League. This series is vital for the Phillies to win, even more than the the last, because this is the series that will show the NL (and potentially the rest of baseball) who the best team is.

So, with that, may the best team win.

And as always, let’s go Phillies.

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Philadelphia Phillies Acquire Hunter Pence, but Will They Stop There?

Last night, the Philadelphia Phillies made a big yet somewhat expected splash when they received All-Star right fielder Hunter Pence and $1 million from the Houston Astros in exchange for four minor-league players, including their top two prospects—starting pitcher Jarred Cosart and first baseman/outfielder Jonathan Singleton.

Despite the ridiculous comment made by Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. earlier this season that the Phillies “would not make a major move this year” at the trade deadline, Amaro has gotten the job done again for the Phillies.

This is the third major move he’s made at the trade deadline in as many years as the Phillies general manager—two years ago, he traded four prospects to the Cleveland Indians for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco, and last year he traded pitcher J.A. Happ and two prospects to the Astros for Roy Oswalt. This year, he got the Phillies the right-handed bat they needed since Jayson Werth signed his mega-deal with the Washington Nationals. And us Phillies fans are happy about that.

However, just because Amaro has made this big trade with Houston doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s done for the year. While most reports indicate that he’s done dealing for the year—he’s even stated that he’s “very comfortable with the ballclub“—but as we’ve come to know with Ruben Amaro (as mentioned above), most things he says should be taken with a grain of salt.

The Phillies are now the team to beat in the National League. With a major league-best 66-39 record, not only are they the team to beat in the NL, but they very well could be in all of baseball.

Sure, the San Francisco Giants just got New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran in a trade, who was arguably the best all-around bat on the trade market this year, but he’s only with the team for the remainder of the season. And with the Phillies’ acquisition of Pence, he’s not only with the team this year, but also the next and the year after that.

In short, the Phillies have basically one-upped the Giants.

But does that mean the Phillies will stop here?

Earlier in the season, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel asked for both a right-handed bat and a relief pitcher. While Ruben Amaro has granted one of those two wishes (and the more important one as well), could he potentially look to get a deal done for a bullpen arm?

In the past when Ruben Amaro has made his trade deadline splashes, he has stood pat for the last few days following his deals. But could this year be a change to his status quo?

Prior to the completion of the Pence trade, Amaro had released a list of his top three priority players to acquire at the deadline this year. That list, from top to least priority, was Pence, White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin and Padres setup man Mike Adams. Now that the Phillies have Pence, Quentin isn’t needed anymore, so Adams technically becomes the Phillies’ top priority should they continue to pursue other players. But will Adams be theirs for the taking?

As we’ve already covered, the Phillies have traded their top two prospects, Cosart and Singleton. Due to their departures, the Phillies’ new top prospect is starting pitcher Brody Colvin. If the Phillies, or any team for that matter, wants Adams, then they would most likely have to part with at least one top prospect. Should the Phillies pursue Adams, could Colvin be that prospect?

Even if the Phillies decide not to go the Adams route, they could trade for a smaller-market reliever like Chad Qualls of the Padres or Jon Rauch of the Blue Jays. It could be very interesting to see which reliever the Phillies get if they choose to go hunting for one.

And while the Phillies’ other primary target is a bullpen arm, they are also supposedly looking for a power bat off the bench. They inquired about Jason Giambi of the Rockies prior to his injury and they even asked the Minnesota Twins about the availability of their former first baseman Jim Thome, who is just four home runs away from reaching the 600 home run milestone for his career. Wouldn’t it be something if he did it in a Phillies uniform?

Yes, the Phillies have done something special in acquiring Hunter Pence. They’ve got the right-handed bat they have coveted and they’ll have it for two and a half years. But there’s still one lingering question: with just over 24 hours before the trade deadline (as of 1:35 p.m. EDT), will the Phillies make another move?

Only time will tell.

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Philadelphia Phillies: July 29 Has Shown To Be a Big Day for Past Trades

With the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline now just three days away, the Philadelphia Phillies will have to make a tough decision or two.

The Phillies are in need of players at two positions: they need a relief pitcher, but more importantly, they need an impact right-handed hitting outfielder.

Today could be the day the Phillies acquire one of these players. But why today?

It is often said that history repeats itself. A famous case includes United States presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and if you look at their comparisons, some of them are eerily similar.

However, in this case, July 29 has been a day to remember for the Phillies in each of the last two seasons.

July 29 is a special day for the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2009, it was the day that they finalized a deal with the Cleveland Indians that sent prospects Jason Donald, Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco and Lou Marson to the Indians in exchange for outfielder Ben Francisco and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee.

Lee ended up being the ace the team needed down the stretch, and he led them to their second straight World Series appearance. Unfortunately, they lost to the New York Yankees in six games, but the two games the Phillies won were both started by Lee, including a shutout in Game 1.

It was also the period of time in which Cliff Lee discovered his love for the city of Philadelphia and the Phillies, a huge factor in his decision to re-sign with the team this past offseason, snubbing both the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, both considered to be the front-runners for his services.

July 29 is also the day that the Phillies acquired Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt for left-handed starting pitcher J.A. Happ and prospects Jonathan Villar and Anthony Gose.

Oswalt ended up being the recuperation for losing Lee last year, going 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA in his starts through the end of the regular season and he was a big reason why the Phillies retook the lead in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves and captured their fourth straight NL East division title.

Oswalt was also one of the Phillies’ most reliable starters in the postseason last year, especially in the NLCS, which the Phillies ended up losing in six games to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

July 29 has shown to be a good day in the recent past for the Phillies, and such a trend could possibly continue. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. has publicly stated his shopping list for this year’s trade deadline, and his top targets are Houston Astros right fielder Hunter Pence, Chicago White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin and San Diego Padres setup man Mike Adams.

Pence, who is the biggest offensive name on the trade market since New York Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran was officially traded to the San Francisco Giants yesterday, has been speculated to be a trade target by the Phillies at the deadline since the beginning of the season, but it hasn’t been until the last few days that talks for Pence at all have surfaced. They’re starting to heat up fast.

However, it won’t be easy to acquire him. The Phillies have already offered their two best prospects in Jonathan Singleton and Jarred Cosart, along with another prospect, and the Astros declined the Phillies’ offer.

Among the other teams in the hunt for Pence are the Atlanta Braves (who have tons of pitching depth in the minors, which could be very attractive to the Astros), the Cincinnati Reds, the Boston Red Sox, the Cleveland Indians, and the Texas Rangers (who are pursuing Padres closer Heath Bell much more than Pence). The Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have also been in the mix.

Quentin has been linked to the Phillies for a few days now, but White Sox GM Kenny Williams has stated that Quentin might be off the market. However, recent reports have surfaced that he might be on the market again, with the Phillies’ division rivals, the Atlanta Braves, being considered the front-runners due to their huge minor league depth.

Adams is the Phillies’ top target in the bullpen department, but he would be difficult to get given the fact that the Padres have little interest in moving him, especially since he’s inexpensive and is under team control through next season. He could be a good fit in Philadelphia, and if all else fails with Pence and Quentin, the Phillies could also try to get Padres left fielder Ryan Ludwick in a deal along with Adams.

It is often said that history repeats itself. But will that be the case with the Philadelphia Phillies? They have made big trades in the last two years on July 29, acquiring aces Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt in 2009 and 2010 respectively. And while the Phillies aren’t pursuing a starting pitcher this season, they are still going after the top names on the trade market in Hunter Pence, Carlos Quentin, and Mike Adams.

But will the Phillies get who they covet most, or will they have to settle for less than what they would like? Or, if nothing goes according to plan, will the Phillies ultimately stand pat at the deadline this season?

If the past has been an indicator, which it seemingly has, then the Phillies will go all-in and try to get Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros.

And today, July 29, could be the day that such a trade could happen.  

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