By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Pete Mackanin's long-term future as the Philadelphia Phillies manager may not be decided yet, but the 65-year-old doesn't seem to ever allow that to keep him from being honest.
Last Thursday, Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball reported that the Phillies were likely to 'seek professionals' this off-season, with the suggestion that hitters like Ian Desmond and Martin Prado could be targets. Though it's not clear if Mackanin was aware of those two names being specifically mentioned in the report, when speaking to Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice, he seemed to like the idea of mixing in some veterans to what has been a young lineup in 2016:
“No question about it, I’d like to get two professional hitters,” he said. “As many as I can. I think it takes pressure off the young guys. When you have (Tommy) Joseph, Cameron Rupp and even Maikel Franco in the middle of your lineup to produce runs, that’s tough to do. Your first year in the big leagues is tough. To be called upon to be the run producer is tough. So if you have a guy that you can count on to give you quality at-bats consistently that’s important. And the other players see it. It’s just as important to have that in the lineup as it is in the rotation.”
The idea of adding veteran hitters to a very young lineup, one that has seen Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco both struggle at times this season, makes at least some sense.
Perhaps the drawback to trying to make big signings this off-season is that it would push players like Herrera, Roman Quinn and Aaron Altherr into either being bench pieces or trade chips. That may not be the worst thing for the team, but it seems early to push any of them out of getting consistent starting at-bats, and that's without even taking top prospect Nick Williams into account.
Certain signings — like a Prado — could allow the Phillies to add a veteran hitter to the lineup and not take at-bats away from their young outfielders. A deal for Prado, though it may cost a decent amount in the short-term, probably also wouldn't impact the Phillies ability to add numerous elite talents in the great free-agent class of 2018 either.
