Amaro played coy and issued the standard declarations around these times: He has spoken to many teams in the last few weeks about a variety of ideas. He wants to keep his expensive starting rotation together. He does not know if he will make a trade before Tuesday.
The Phillies have long sought bullpen upgrades, but they are not alone in that quest. Just about every contending team in baseball has the same goal.
They have reportedly offered Shane Victorino for a young middle reliever only to be rebuffed by Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
"Somebody has to want to trade with you," Amaro said.
The Phillies, of course, are potentially not bound to Tuesday's deadline. Should they have a good weekend against the Braves and compel Amaro to not sell off important pieces only to falter later, deals are still possible.
Players must clear trade waivers after July 31 before they are eligible to be dealt. Those waivers are revocable. So, for example, if a contending team were to claim free-agents-to-be Victorino or Joe Blanton, the Phillies could attempt to work a trade or simply let the acquiring team assume the remainder of the players' salaries.
How realistic is any action after July 31?
"I don't know," Amaro said. "I know there's a lot of talk out there. I know there is a lot of dialogue going on between different clubs, different ideas. A lot of interesting stuff. A lot of crazy stuff. We've talked about some crazy stuff."
Filling third
Placido Polanco was scheduled for an epidural injection Friday after being placed on the disabled list with inflammation in his back. Amaro did not have a timetable for his return, but said, "We don't think it's a long-term thing."
Polanco missed 25 days with a back injury in 2011, and Amaro does not believe this is as severe.
In the meantime, manager Charlie Manuel will use a combination of Ty Wigginton, Mike Fontenot, and Kevin Frandsen at third base. Fontenot started there Friday after Wigginton endured a trying day in the field Wednesday.
Who is the team's best defensive option right now?
"I don't know," Manuel said. "Seriously, I don't know yet."
Frandsen was added after hitting .302 with an International League-leading 34 doubles at triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 30-year-old has 228 games of major-league experience, mostly at second base.
Extra bases
Brian Schneider caught for single-A Clearwater on Friday and is scheduled for two more rehab games following that. It will be interesting to see if Erik Kratz's recent success has any bearing on Schneider's status. Kratz has more home runs and RBIs in 16 plate appearances than Schneider does in 76. . . . The Phillies promoted two top pitching prospects - Jonathan Pettibone went to triple-A Lehigh Valley and Brody Colvin to double-A Reading. Colvin was repeating single-A Clearwater and had a 4.27 ERA. "We think it might help his confidence a little bit," assistant general manager Benny Looper said. "We think it's the right time."
Contact Matt Gelb
at mgelb@phillynews.com
or follow on Twitter @magelb
