Will the Phillies Make a Move?

Prepare yourself, with the desire to acquire a left-handed reliever the Phillies might do something to make the entire fan base jump off the Walt Whitman.

According to Jayson Stark the Phillies have an interest in former Phillies reliever, Arthur Rhodes. I don't even know to go into the stats he compiled during his one-year tenure with the team. The Phillies have also called about John Grabow, Will Ohman, and Jack Taschner. The Phillies would love to acquire Brian Fuentes or George Sherrill, but it seems that both players are off the market. They've also been mentioned in the Ron Mahay sweepstakes, but it appears that Jason Donald would not be enough.

John Grabow - 53.2 IP, 5-3, 3.19 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 45/23 K/BB ratio, 0.88 GB/FB, 29 years old. Lefties hitting .240 off him

Arthur Rhodes - 21.1 IP, 2-0, 2.53 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 26/10 K/BB ratio, 0.55 GB/FB ratio, 38 years old. Lefties hitting .200 off him.

Will Ohman - 44.1 IP, 3-0, 2.84 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 41/18 K/BB ratio, 1.12 GB/FB ratio, 30 years old, great Harry Caray impression. Lefties hitting .160 off him.

Jack Taschner - 36.2 IP, 2-1, 2.95 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 29/16 K/BB ratio, 0.98 GB/FB ratio, 30 years old. Lefties hitting .179 off him.

The best two for the Phillies to look for are Jack Taschner or Will Ohman. Lefties are hitting relatively poorly off them and that is what the Phillies need the most. Ohman would be the most appealing as he is just outright better, but it would also cost more to acquire him. Also, the Braves would also look for more from the Phillies because they'd be trading inside the division. Taschner would be an acquistion I'd approve of. I'd like him to get a few more ground balls with that lower K-rate, but you take what you can get right now. The market is pretty weak.

Some other deadline rumors:

Rays are scouting Jayson Werth and feel he could be availble for the right price. [MLB Trade Rumors] If the Phillies look to trade Werth or Victorino, I prefer that it'd be Werth. I like Victorino's speed and ability to switch hit in the lineup. I also like his range and arm more than Werth's in centerfield. If the Phillies were to trade Werth for some pitching, I would have a problem with Geoff Jenkins starting every day.

Also, looks like Manny is coming to the NL East, just not the Phillies. According to reports, Manny Ramirez is likely to be traded to the Florida Marlins. [Baseball Prospectus]

Multiple baseball sources say the Red Sox are on the verge of sending disgruntled left fielder Manny Ramirez to the Marlins in a trade for a package of three players that included low Class A Greensboro outfielder Mike Stanton, an 18-year-old who is hitting .275/.351/.569 with 26 home runs in 96 games.