Phillies looking at Indians' Carmona as trade deadline nears

Two members of the Phillies organization laughed when told of the latest rumor sweeping through cyberspace yesterday - that lefthander J.A. Happ was involved in talks for Cubs lefthander Ted Lilly.

Lilly, a free agent after the 2010 season, would be a 2-month rental. Happ, meanwhile, has at least 4 years until he reaches free agency.

But while the Phillies are not willing to pay a premium price for a rental player, one person familiar with the Phillies' thinking said yesterday that the team has been readying backup plans in case they are unable, or unwilling, to pull the trigger on a deal for Astros righthander Roy Oswalt before Saturday's trade deadline. (Late last night, ESPN.com was reporting that talks for Oswalt were intensifying.) While Lilly might be an option, Indians righthander Fausto Carmona was definitely a blip on the Phillies' radar.

The Phillies had a scout at Carmona's start last night against the Yankees in Cleveland. The 26-year-old righthander had recorded quality starts in eight of his 10 outings before last night.

Carmona (10-7, 3.92 ERA) has thrown at least six innings in 17 of his 21 starts.

But he was hit hard by the Yankees, allowing seven runs on 10 hits in just 2 2/3 innings before he was pulled.

Previously, his worst start came at Citizens Bank Park on June 24, when the Phillies scored seven runs, five earned, off him in four innings of a 12-3 victory.

Carmona isn't a strikeout pitcher - he's averaging five strikeouts and 3.5 walks per nine innings this season - but he has an excellent groundball rate and has allowed just seven home runs.

But he also could be at peak value. He entered last night with 128 1/3 innings, more than he tallied in either 2008 or 2009 (Carmona went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in 215 innings in 2007 as a 23-year-old, first-year starter). He is also signed to a manageable contract that pays him $4.9 million this season and $6.1 million next year with club options from 2012 to '14.

In other words, the Indians may ask a lot for a pitcher who doesn't profile as a top-of-the-rotation arm and has never put together two consecutive solid seasons. Carmona also has a .269 batting average on balls in play, which is nearly 30 points below his career average.

There have been no indications that the Phillies have ruled out the possibility of shifting their focus to two other potential areas of need - a reliever who could fortify an inconsistent bullpen, and a hitter who could fill in for injured second baseman Chase Utley and provide depth thereafter.

One team that could offer both is Toronto, which has righthanded hitting outfielder/second baseman Jose Bautista and a group of relievers that includes impressive lefty Scott Downs.

The Phillies have scouted the Blue Jays heavily over the previous few weeks, and had a scout watching them last night. They like Downs, a source said, although it isn't clear how they value Bautista, whose major league-leading 30 home runs are nearly double his previous career high. He is also under club control for next season, when the Phillies could lose their only true righthanded power hitter in free-agent-to-be Jayson Werth.