5 Top priorities for the new GM

DANA POINT, Calif. - One needs only look at history to find the extent of the challenge Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies now face. Since 1931, only one National League club has repeated as World Series champion. That came more than 30 years ago, when the Reds won in 1975 and '76.

Here are five pressing challenges facing the team:

1 Setting the outfield.

The most obvious situation that needs to be ironed out concerns leftfielder Pat Burrell. Burrell has said he would like to remain in Philadelphia, and the Phillies have said they would like to keep him. But with 10 days before the start of the free-agent signing period, the two sides are not close to a deal. Burrell hit .250 this season, his lowest average since he hit .209 in 2003. His on-base percentage of .367 was his lowest since 2004. But his 33 home runs were the second most of his career (37 in 2002) and he is a known quantity, having hit at least 24 home runs with at least 84 RBI in seven of his last eight seasons.

If Burrell does not return, it will be hard to replace that production with one player. Amaro yesterday indicated that Manny Ramirez, perhaps the only superstar of the free-agent crop, was not a leading option.

The Phillies have some flexibility, since Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino can play all three outfield positions. They also have veteran rightfielders Geoff Jenkins and Matt Stairs signed through next season.

"If Pat Burrell is not with us, we know we're going to have a void in leftfield," Amaro said. "We might have to deal with that internally with the Geoff Jenkinses of the world and the Matt Stairses of the world."

2 Arbitration.

It's something of a catch-22. To win a World Series, you need several players to have career years. But then you have to pay them for those career years. The Phillies will have 10 players eligible for arbitration. Among those in line for sizable raises are Victorino, Werth, reliever Ryan Madson, starter Cole Hamels and first baseman Ryan Howard. With Burrell's $14.25 million salary off the books and a payroll that will surely increase from $103 million after this year's record attendance and World Series run, the Phillies will have money to spend. But how much of that is spent on free agents will depend largely on how much is spent in the arbitration process.

3 Hamels and Howard.