Winter Meetings: Naming names

The names leap off the page so quickly that they make you dizzy.

Freddy Garcia.
Derrick Turnbow.
Akinori Otsuka.
Octavio Dotel.
Rod Barajas.
Preston Wilson.
Rondell White.
Kevin Mench.

According to reports there is a good chance that at least one of those players could be with the Phillies by the close of the Winter Meetings in Disney World this week. More interestingly, all of the players listed fit one or more of the team’s needs. Garcia, of course, is the top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher that general manager Pat Gillick has coveted since the first day he took the reigns with the Phillies.

Turnbow, Otsuka and Dotel are relievers who meet the team’s criteria of a set-up man, which, according to manager Charlie Manuel, means they have all been closers at one point or another.

Barajas is a catcher who could take over the starting job, while Wilson, White and Mench are veteran hitters/outfielders that provide a little depth.

In a nutshell, the Phillies would be smart to get any one of those players.

But everything has a price. In this regard the names that pop off the page are equally as compelling.

Jon Lieber.
Gavin Floyd.
Aaron Rowand.

According to the dispatches from Florida, Lieber could be dealt to Milwaukee for Turnbow. To get Garcia from the White Sox, it could cost the Phillies Rowand and Floyd.

Yikes… on Rowand.

Losing Lieber, if Garcia is acquired, is no big deal. Oh sure, Lieber won 20 games once upon a time for the Cubs, and he won 17 for the Phillies in 2005. When the big right-hander is healthy he’s a steady and consistent a pitcher capable of turning in seven innings every time out. But Lieber has been injured a lot during his 12 seasons. He has pitched 200 innings just four times, missed a full season after Tommy John surgery, and looks as if he’s a step away from a pulled hamstring or groin.

And frankly, the Phillies are a little concerned about Lieber's growing waistline.

Floyd, simply, is a huge disappointment. Yet for as much as the Phillies don’t feel as though Floyd is a part of the team’s future, they also don’t want to simply give him away.

Rowand is the tough one. Yeah, he gets injured a lot, and yes, his offensive numbers aren’t stellar. But it’s hard to deny Rowand’s influence in the Phillies’ clubhouse. Plus, it’s so clear how much the guy loves baseball. No one needed him to smash his face into a fence to see that.

Nonetheless, if the Phillies can get Garcia, the relievers they need and the extra bat or two, Rowand might have to be the casualty.

Baseball is tough like that.

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On another note, the best blog from the Winter Meetings is Scott Lauber's.

What does this mean for Floyd?

Despite being smacked around like a pinata at a kids' party, the Phillies plan on sending rookie Scott Mathieson back to the mound for his next start in Chicago. Forget about Mathieson's 1-4 record with a 7.23 ERA, and forget about minor leaguers Gavin Floyd (7-3, 4.15 ERA), Eude Brito (9-8, 3.31) or Brian Mazone (11-3, 2.22) as possible replacements -- the kid is going back out there.

"(Mathieson) is young and he's definitely going to be a part of our future," Charlie Manuel told the writers before Friday's game. "He's got the stuff to be a big-league pitcher. That's how [Robinson] Tejeda pitched last year - all stuff and guts."

But what if he keeps getting his guts... well, you know?

What happens if Mathieson takes another tough loss is anyone's guess, however, the interesting part is the Phillies' brass really doesn't look at Gavin Floyd as a viable option.

Yeah, that's right, the fourth overall selection in the draft is not an option.

If I were Manuel or Pat Gillick, and I didn't want Floyd any more, I'd send him out there every five days -- he could pitch reasonably well and help the team win a game and he could improve his value for a potential trade.

Of course, that's only the case if you want to get rid of the guy.

Meanwhile, Tom Gordon is going to take the weekend off to rest his shoulder. It seems as if the closer's "injury" is just a flare up from overuse and will improve with some rest.