With the exception of Pence, all of the above players are past the age of 30, and the time will soon come when a new cast of minor-league players will have to produce if the Phillies are to sustain their current run of success.
After dealing the organization's top two prospects - first baseman Jonathan Singleton and pitcher Jarred Cosart - for Pence last July, there's no way the team's farm system can be considered as strong as it was a year ago at this time.
The strength, as is the case at the big-league level, lies in starting pitching, most of which figures to open the 2012 season at double-A Reading.
The weakness is a lack of quality position players, a problem the Phillies hope they addressed during last year's draft.
Some minor-leaguers will be in the big-league camp, and the others will report to Clearwater March 1.
Here's a look at just a few of the minor-league story lines worth following this season:
Can Domonic Brown fulfill his potential?
Despite a brief and unsuccessful winter-ball stint in the Dominican Republic, Domonic Brown went to spring training a year ago with a chance to win the job as the starting rightfielder. Instead, he landed on the disabled list with a fractured hook of the hamate bone in his right hand.
That was the beginning of a difficult season for Brown that has left his future with the Phillies in doubt. With the addition of Pence at the trade deadline, the Phillies sent Brown to triple-A Lehigh Valley and moved him to left field. For the first time since rookie ball in the Gulf Coast League, he also struggled at the minor-league level.
The plan going into this season is to send Brown, 24, back to Lehigh Valley in the hope he reemerges as a rising star.
Can the Baby Aces continue their climb?
