Phillies' free agency: The great unknowns

LATE SATURDAY NIGHT, as the Phillies clubhouse slowly cleared in the wake of a stunning loss to the Giants in the National League Championship Series, Chad Durbin shared a lighthearted moment he had with his wife Crystal, who was accompanying him on a recent road trip. As the team charter sailed high above the country, the reliever joked about what might be his waning days in the organization.

"I'm probably not going to be hanging out with you at all," Durbin said, a wistful smile on his face as he recalled the conversation.

Durbin is one of a select few veterans who spent the stretch run savoring his time with a group of teammates who, over the course of a 162-game season, can grow into extended family. The Phillies enter the offseason with six veterans who are likely to become free agents once the signing period begins 5 days after the World Series ends.

The headliner is rightfielder Jayson Werth, whose departure could leave a gaping hole in the middle of the order after a three-season stretch in which he averaged 29 home runs and 18 stolen bases while hitting .279 with a .376 on base percentage and .889 OPS. But there are several other familiar names in the group, including Durbin, ageless starter Jamie Moyer, reliever Jose Contreras, midseason acquisition Mike Sweeney and lefty specialist J.C. Romero.

Durbin, Werth, Romero and Moyer all have been teammates since the start of the 2008 season, which ended with the Phillies winning their first world title in 28 years.

If you were handicapping each player's odds of returning, Durbin would sit at the top of the list. Werth, who is expected to speak with the media later this week, seems destined to test a market that last season paid the top two free-agent outfielders $66 million over 4 years in the case of Jason Bay and $120 million over 7 years in the case of Matt Holliday. (Werth and Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford are widely considered to be the top two available bats this season.)

Werth has been a fixture at the No. 5 spot, providing a powerful righthanded bat in a lineup that features lefties Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez. Howard said he has yet to contemplate a future that does not have Werth hitting behind him.

"Hopefully I won't have to," he said. "Hopefully they will get something done, and hopefully J-Dub will be back here next year."