Checklist : Phillies Right Handed Bat

As 10 days remain until the MLB Trade Deadline, I'll be taking a look at the names swirling around for the Phillies and their hunt for a right handed bat.

Hunter Pence - While he may be a longshot, you'd be an idiot to not want his .316 average and 61 RBI's in the Phillies lineup.  He's a career .290 hitter, and would be the perfect fit on this team.  As with anything however, the cost for him would be pretty substantial.  The rumor swirl is a deal along the lines of Domonic Brown and Vance Worley for Hunter. 

If the Phillies were to snag Pence, it would be taking a gamble knowing he's eligible for salary arbitration in 2012, and a free agent for the 2013 season.  As we have been shown in the Phillies past, contracts can and will be agreed upon.  Where will the 10-15 million a player like Pence come from???  Well the Phillies have three options on Roy Oswalt... 1. He retires, no salary owed.  2. Pay him 16 million for his services, or 3. Buy out his contract for under 3 million, and release him as a free agent.  I think Oswalt would still be nice to have in the roster, but he hasn't done anything to prove he is worth that much money. 

While I think it's incredibly likley the Phils will release Oswalt, I doubt the Phillies will land Pence.  You must realize the impact that would have on Houston as well.  He is the face of the Astros, and that would be parallel to the Phillies releasing Howard in 06-07 when he was still young and his talent was on the way up.  Unless there is something going on behind the scenes and Pence wants out of Houston, he will be there for a long time and rewarded financially. 

Now that I am removing Pence from the picture, here's some of the other names and some info on the players....

Carlos Beltran -The 34 year old looks like the leading candidate for the Phils, and I am okay with that.  He's putting up good numbers this year (.293, 15HR, 61RBI), and did hit .323 in 2009.  With his contract ending, and if he performs; he could end up in this organization for a couple years with the Oswalt money.

Just incase you want more convincing.  If he was on the Phils, he would be 2nd in batting average (a mere .002 away from Victorino), 2nd in HR, and 2nd in RBI's.  What a 5 hole hitter he would be.

Melky Cabrerra -  Another player I would love to land in Philly.  At only 26 (and more of a long-run solution), his .294 average and 12 home runs would fit in fine in this lineup.  At such a young age, he would be worth offering an extension too after the season if things work out.

There's a dozen other right handed bats out there, but none stand out like these three guys.  Lets hope the Phillies can land one of these guys.