ESPN.com's Jayson Stark is reporting that the Phillies are the front-runners for acquiring Royals lefty reliever Ron Mahay, although a deal is not close at this point in time. The Royals have had as many as ten teams contact them about Mahay, but it appears the appeal of acquiring Phillies minor league prospect Jason Donald is what is swaying them towards the Phils.

Mahay, who turned 37 last month, is having an outstanding season. He's 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA. He's pitched 54 2/3 innings this year striking out 42 while walking 21. Opponents are only hitting .222 off of him, .213 against lefties. For his career, he's 24-10 with a 3.63 ERA. He is signed thru '09 and slated to make four million next year.

Mahay would provide the Phillies with a much needed second left-handed option out of the pen to compliment J.C. Romero. Donald, a shortstop, is a member of the US Olympic Baseball team and considered one of the Phillies best non-pitching prospects. The Phillies have Jimmy Rollins entrenched at that position for many years to come, so the deal would be a no-brainer.

Within the last hour, the Phillies officially recalled J.A. Happ from Lehigh, taking the recently demoted Adam Eaton's spot. However, if the Mayah trade does occur, I suspect Happ would be sent right back down.

The best left-handed reliever on the market was the Rockies Brian Fuentes, but in recent days it appears as if the Rockies have taken if off the trade blocks as the team has gone 9-2 since the All-Star break and finds themselves just six games out of first. Therefore, Mahay seems like the best the Phillies could do anyhow.

Getting a lefty reliever was one of the two goals the Phillies set for themselves before Thursday's trade deadline. The other void they are looking to fill is a right-handed bat. The team has already squashed rumors about going after Manny Ramirez. One other note of interest is that one of the Phillies top scouts is currently in Pittsburgh.

Perhaps the Phillies are looking at Jason Bay or even catcher Ryan Doumit. With the deadline less than 51 hours away, this could just be the first of a few moves the Phillies make.