Philadelphia Phillies Need To Buy As Deadline Approaches

As the Philadelphia Phillies approach the All-Star Break, the mood in the City of Brotherly Love is content.

Ryan Howard is heating up, Chase Utley is having an MVP-type season, Brad Lidge and the rest of the bullpen have been phenomenal, as have Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth.

Nevertheless, the city and its team keep looking over their shoulder all too frequently at the progress of the New York Mets and Florida Marlins.

The best way to strike down the fear that we as Phillies fans seem to hold would be for the organization to acquire a reliable starting pitcher, maybe even two.

As of right now, the Phillies' playoff rotation will look something like this:

Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, and Kyle Kendrick.

Brett Myers is left off the rotation, seeing that he is currently not at the Major League level. Even if Myers were, the playoff rotation still would look skeptical with Hamels, Myers, and Moyer.

The league and all baseball fans know the Phillies will score runs, albeit sometimes inconsistently, and their defense and speed are also above average. In addition, the bullpen has dramatically exceeded expectations.

Thus, it is time the front office addressed the need for more starting pitching.

The trades in the National League have already started, as the Milwaukee Brewers acquired C.C. Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for a handful of prospects. The Chicago Cubs acquired Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin from Oakland for a handful of prospects as well.

So, as the other contenders in the National League start to show that they are ready to win now, will the Phillies follow suit? If they want to forget about their three-game sweep at the hands of the Rockies in the Divisional Series last season, they should step up and acquire a starter.

Recently, rumors have pointed that the Phillies are considering going after Blue Jays starter A.J. Burnett. While Burnett has great stuff which leads to his high strikeout total, he is injury-prone and gives up a lot of fly balls (as attested by the 23 HR he allowed last season).

This last fact is something that screams "DON'T BRING HIM TO PHILADELPHIA," as he would be destroyed in the pinball yard of Citizens Bank Park.

A guy the Phillies might be able to get at a low price is Joe Blanton. Currently, he is 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA.

However, he is 28, and has shown that he in fact can be a good pitcher, shown by his record (14-10), ERA (3.95), and 34 starts. In addition, he pitched 230 innings, and gave up just 16 HR and had 307 ground outs.

In return for Blanton, A's GM Billy Beane will probably demand prospects, in which case he will want Phillies' top prospect Carlos Carrasco, in addition to at least one more prospect.

The reason that there is the slightest chance of this trade happening, is that Billy Beane is almost unpredictable, and while he dealt his staff ace in Harden, he might very well trade Blanton as well.

In addition, Blanton could be had for a lower price now than during the past offseason.

In terms of prospects, the Phillies should keep catcher Lou Marson and pitcher Joe Savery. These two should be kept to fill in, Marson for Chris Coste or Carlos Ruiz, and Savery for the day Adam Eaton's contract finally expires.

They could offer top prospect Carlos Carrasco, as most teams that look at the Phillies would want either him, Shane Victorino, or Jayson Werth.

The Phillies have plenty of outfield depth at the Major League level and could be able to deal some of it away for more pitching.

Honestly, the loss of a Shane Victorino or Jayson Werth would not be catastrophic, as the team would still score runs, and only needs one of them to play center field.

Rumors also pointed to the Phillies having interest in Erik Bedard, but that interest has died down as Bedard was put on the DL this week with yet another injury.

As much as the city would like to see a legitimate No. 2 starter behind Cole Hamels, the market is not very good this season with the two top pitchers already having been traded.

The Phillies are now fighting with contenders who all have superior farm systems and might not be able to land that top starter they need.

Well, until the 31st, I'll just enjoy the fireworks Ryan Howard is providing and pray that the pitching holds together.