Despite a report from ESPN's Jayson Stark earlier this week that suggested that the Philadelphia Phillies were 'definitely looking' for an outfielder, the team's general manager Matt Klentak did his best to downplay the talk of adding another outfielder when he spoke to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
"We've got our ears open for opportunities, but I wouldn't characterize it as active," Klentak said. "This is the time of the year where most teams are starting to connect with each other to talk about different scenarios that are going to play out at the end of camp — who is going to make the team, who may not. So those conversations have begun — generally, anyway."
This quote, though fairly long-wided, actually says little. The Phillies may not be in 'active' discussions as Klentak says, but that doesn't mean that they won't end up in any active discussions or haven't called teams to gauge their interest in potentially moving outfielders.
If the Phillies were to break camp today, the five true outfielders on their roster would likely be Odubel Herrera, Tyler Goeddel, Peter Bourjos, David Lough and Cedric Hunter. While there is something to be said for a rebuilding team giving young players a chance to play, there's also something to be said for putting out an Opening Day outfield corps that features just one player (Herrera) that would start for a majority of teams in the league, and three (Goeddel, Lough and Hunter) that likely wouldn't even make a majority of the league's rosters.
With Aaron Altherr potentially out for the season, and Cody Asche not that much of an impact player once he comes back, it may make some sense for the Phillies to consider trading for a player like Alejandro De Aza of the New York Mets. De Aza might not have a long-term future with the team if acquired, but realistically, neither do Lough, Hunter or Asche. So De Aza taking at-bats and potentially building himself into a trade candidate wouldn't be the worst thing for the Phillies.
De Aza, of course, is just an option, though the pool of available outfielders in mid-March isn't exactly loaded with talent.
The other thing that's worth considering is that Bourjos and Goeddel are anything but locks to have productive seasons. Bourjos is a very good fielder, but save for his 2011 season with the Los Angeles Angels, he's never been a particularity effective hitter. Goeddel has had an impressive spring, but he's never played a game at the major league level. The Phillies are in a position where they can give Bourjos and Goeddel extended playing time to see if they could have any long-term fit with the team, or in the case of Bourjos, trade-value. They don't, however, want to leave themselves in a position where if one of them struggles, Hunter and Lough are their only other options.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
