Eaton To Minors

The Phillies sent pitcher Adam Eaton to the minors.  It's about time.  Eaton was recently moved to the bullpen after the acquisition of Joe Blanton.  Eaton is 4-8 with a 5.80 ERA this season, mostly in the starting rotation.  The Phillies called up pitcher J.A. Happ from Triple A to take Eaton's place.  Happ pitched pretty well when he was in the rotation, filling in for Brett Myers.

Last night might have been the last time you see Eaton in a Phillies uniform.  Eaton has pitched poorly in both the rotation and the bullpen.  After a disastrous first year, the phillies were willing to give Eaton another shot.  After almost two seasons, Eaton has not improved.

As the trade deadline approaches, many people are wondering whether the Phillies are going to make a move.  It was reported that the Phillies may be a good fit for the disgruntled Manny Ramirez.  Ramirez said that he would be open to any trade the Red Sox could work out.  The Red Sox probably won't trade Ramirez; they probably will just wait until his contract runs out after this season.

But what if the Phillies could trade for Ramirez (below).  He would give them a real playoff lift.  if they didn't trade any of their current starters, here's how the starting lineup would look:

SS Jimmy Rollins

2B Chase Utley

LF Manny Ramirez

1B Ryan Howard

RF Pat Burrell

3B Pedro Feliz

CF Shane Victorino

C  Chris Coste

P  Pitcher

That would be an explosive lineup to say the lest.  Now, what could they give the Red Sox.  They would have to give up numerous top prospects and maybe Jayson Werth or Geoff Jenkins.  They might have to give up Pat Burrell to take Ramirez's place in front of the Green Monster.

The Phillies probably won't trade for Ramirez.  But they probably will make one more significant move before it's all said and done.  Their main target is pitching.  They are definitely going to be looking for somebody in the set up roll in the bullpen.  They may make a run at Brian Fuentes or George Sherrill.  Still, Ramirez would be sweet.