"We just felt like this was the right thing for us to do," Amaro said, "not just for now but for the future."
Pence is not a superstar, but he is the complementary righthanded bat the Phillies have missed since Jayson Werth bolted for his mega-millions deal in Washington. He will be inserted into right field and likely bat fifth in Manuel's lineup. Pence is expected to arrive in time for Saturday's game.
Ultimately, while top farmhands were sacrificed, no young pieces at the major-league level were required to complete the deal. Along with Singleton and Cosart, righthander Josh Zeid was in the package. A player to be named will come from a list not including Domonic Brown or Vance Worley. Both 23-year-olds have contributed substantially in the majors this season, but Brown is out of a starting job now.
A baseball source said Brown was made available in trade talks, but Houston declined.
"We believe Domonic Brown is going to be an outstanding major-league baseball player," Amaro said. "He's kind of learning on the job. He's done a nice job for us here. This is not a knock on Domonic Brown by any stretch of the imagination. We believe and hope he's going to be a Phillie for a long time."
In Pence, the Phillies have long-term certainty. He is hitting .308 with 11 home runs in 2011. The 28-year-old has two years of arbitration remaining. That doesn't mean he will come cheap; Pence already is making $6.9 million in 2011 and will be due a significant raise in 2012 and 2013. But with his addition, the 2012 outfield of Brown, Shane Victorino, and Pence is set.
Manuel had asked for another hitter in the weeks leading up to the deadline. He is satisfied.
