The Phillies Are Three Moves Away From Another World Series

(Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)

It's early.  The All-Star break is still a few weeks away.  It's impossible to know what will happen between now and October, let alone in the playoffs.

But after two full months of baseball, it's clear that the Philadelphia Phillies are good enough to make another postseason run.  It's also clear that they are far from perfect.

Reports have indicated that General Manager Ruben Amaro is fully prepared to make a move (or moves) prior to the July 31 trading deadline in order to put his team in a better position to succeed.  Specifically, the Phillies are in the market for a starting pitcher and a right-handed bat off the bench.  I also feel they need an upgrade in the bullpen, but there have been no specific rumors to that effect.

How the organization addresses these needs is key to how far the team will go.

Move No. 1: Land a Starting Pitcher

Even before Brett Myers underwent potentially season-ending surgery, the Phillies were on the lookout for another starter.  The entire rotation struggled out of the gates and only a recent run of quality starts has relieved them of the dubious distinction of having the worst ERA in the league.

Cole Hamels (4.62 ERA) and Joe Blanton (5.17 ERA) have both shown improvement in recent appearances and will be expected to step up their games for the rest of the season.  The Phillies can't afford to worry about their established starters with the question marks they have in rest of the rotation

Offseason acquisition Chan Ho Park narrowly beat out J. Happ in spring training for the fifth spot, but the Phillies pulled the trigger after he put up a 7.08 ERA in eight starts.  Happ was given an opportunity to strut his stuff and is 2-0 with a 3.42 ERA in four starts, but is still an unknown commodity.

Rookie left-hander Antonio Bastardo was called up when Myers went on the DL and was impressive in his first two starts.  But Bastardo is clearly a work in progress, as he showed in his last start against Boston (1 IP, 4 ER, 3 BB).  The Phillies are comfortable with Bastardo for now, but appear to view him as a short-term solution.

Finally, the Phillies aren't quite sure what to do with veteran Jamie Moyer.  The 46-year-old had an ERA of 8.15 after seven starts and gave up seven or more hits in his first nine appearances. Though he's given up only six runs in his last 19 innings, the Phillies have to be wary of the aging left-hander.  Is he still good enough to pitch when it counts?

Finding a veteran starter who can step in as No. 2 or No. 3 in the rotation is the most important task facing Amaro.  Fortunately, he has the pieces to do it.

Infielder Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson, both currently at triple A Lehigh Valley, are both highly sought after.  Outfielder Michael Taylor is tearing it up for double A Reading.  And there are a handful of interesting pitching prospects sprinkled throughout the Phillies farm system.

I can't even speculate about what combination of prospects the Phils would be willing to part with or who they would expect in return.  GMs get paid big bucks to figure that out.  But I do know that the Phillies need to have confidence in more than just Hamels and Blanton this fall if they expect to compete for another trophy.

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