Phillies GM says adding pitching will continue to be goal
The Philadelphia Phillies have a plan for the off-season, and it revolves around the acquisition of more pitching, which they've done so far with the additions of Jeremy Hellickson, James Russell, and Dan Otero.
"This offseason we made it a priority to add a stabilizing influence to our young rotation, and we think we found that guy in Jeremy," general manager Matt Klentak told reporters Saturday about the addition of Hellickson. "I think one of the things on top of the obvious is that he's a veteran guy, but still just 28 years old. He'll pitch at 29 this season, so we're excited that he's still in his prime. And more than anything, he's a competitor. He wants the ball. We've talked about building an environment and we think he'll be a very positive influence on our staff."
It's unlikely that the Phillies will make a push for any of the top-tier players available in free agency, but they do offer an exceptional opportunity for players looking to rebuild their value.
"We offer an opportunity to players to come in and get back to the form they've shown in the past," explained Klentak. "And that's probably true all three of those players."
The Phillies have quietly been active during the offseason, and they will continue to scan the open market and other avenues, searching for a way to stockpile arms.
"We're open to anything," Klentak said. "This doesn't preclude us pursuing anything. We'll continue be open minded. We felt adding him (Hellickson) early as a stabilizing influence made sense.
"I think pitching depth can be built a lot of ways. We acquired one on a waiver claim (Otero), one on a minor league contract (Russell), and one in a big league trade (Hellickson). That will continue to be a goal."
Philadelphia could potentially lose Cliff Lee, Aaron Harang, Chad Billingsley, and Jerome Williams to free agency, so the club could be looking for another arm or two to help stabilize a young rotation that could potentially feature a mix of Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Adam Morgan, and others.