Scott Lauber of The News Journal spoke to Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. today about some of the team's offseason plans. Here are a few of the highlights from Lauber's article:
- The Phillies' offseason wishlist: a third baseman, bullpen help, bench depth, and starting pitching depth.
- The team expects to have about $120MM committed in salaries and $20MM to spend to fill their needs.
- Amaro Jr. doesn't comment on specific free agents he's interested in, but Lauber suggests Mark DeRosa and Placido Polanco are still the club's top targets.
- The "greatest challenge" Amaro Jr. will face in attempting to sign free agents could be persuading players to assume lesser roles. That could mean convincing a closer such as Fernando Rodney to assume a setup role, or asking someone like Juan Uribe to come off the bench.
- Amaro Jr. expects relievers Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre to test the free agent market. Eyre has said he'll only pitch for the Phillies, but the Phillies GM is skeptical about whether that's really true.
