Philadelphia Phillies Trade Rumors: Melky Cabrera Is the Way to Go

Of course, since the trade deadline is one week away, the Phillies are in the spotlight.

GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has not been known to shy away from a big trade at the deadline, so of course everyone is expecting at least some type of move this week.

Charlie Manuel had said that he wants an arm for the bullpen or a right-handed bat to play in the outfield.

Maybe both goals could be accomplished, but with limited payroll room the Phillies will probably have to choose which one they want more.

So which one will they choose?

Recently, the Phillies have been linked to more outfielders than pitchers, but about a week ago the news was really hot about the Phillies going after some bullpen help.

In the outfield, Hunter Pence, Melky Cabrera, and Carlos Beltran have been the most dominant rumors while Mike Adams and Heath Bell have highlighted the bullpen rumors.

It seems as if these two bullpen rumors are maybe becoming less intense however because of the return of Brad Lidge to help solidify the bullpen, so it seems that if the outfielder deal might be more probable now.

Until the Mets drop their price of Domonic Brown, the Phillies should not be interested in that type of trade. The price tag should go down as the deadline draws closer, but the Phillies need to lay low until it does, since Brown is too high of a cost for a player who would essentially be a rental.

Hunter Pence is a very attractive target for the Phillies in terms of the right-handed bat, and according to Buster Olney on Twitter, the Phillies want to center any trade for Pence around Vance Worley.

Of course, that raises the question of what the Astros want to center the trade around.

Probably Domonic Brown is what they want as the centerpiece along with a lot more.

Melky Cabrera should definitely not be as expensive as the other two, and according to reports from Fox Sports, the Phillies have exchanged names with the Royals.

Cabrera is having a very good year, and he would be under team control for next season as well. This could make a very attractive to the Phillies.

Cabrera is the way the Phillies should go.

Right now, he's batting .294 with 12 home runs and 14 stolen bases. That is pretty nice all-around production in terms of power and speed.

He has played in every outfield spot this season, but the vast majority has been in center field.

The 26-year-old is just about to enter his prime years, and while the Phillies would be trading away some prospects, Cabrera is still young.

This should be the move that the Phillies should make especially if the other price tags stay so high.