Phillies still looking at Rockies' Holliday

If the Phillies don't bring back leftfielder Pat Burrell, they will need somebody to fill his spot in the lineup.

Maybe Matt Holliday.

The Phillies had talked with the Colorado Rockies about Holliday (and lefthander Brian Fuentes) before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but the asking price was too high.

"Sounds like somebody's dreaming," then-general manager Pat Gillick said when asked about a blockbuster deal with the Rockies.

But the Phillies still have interest in the 28-year-old Holliday, and for good reason. He is a righthanded power hitter who would fit nicely in the middle of the Phils' lineup. And he plays left field.

SI.com reported yesterday that the Phillies were one of the teams aggressively pursuing Holliday, but one baseball source said the Rockies likely would require Shane Victorino or Jayson Werth plus at least a couple of top prospects - start with righthander Carlos Carrasco and work down - to get serious. For those reasons, a deal might not make sense for the Phillies.

Would they want to ship a big-league talent such as Victorino or Werth plus top prospects for a player who would be with the club for just one season? Holliday would be a free agent after the season, and his agent is Scott Boras. Boras almost always makes his players test the free-agent market, so there would be little to no chance that the Phillies could extend Holliday past 2009.

If Holliday can't be had at a reasonable price, the Phillies might have to look at Milton Bradley or Rocco Baldelli.

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