Future is coming soon for the Phillies

Past, present, and future collided for the Phillies in the spring of 2013.

The core that has meant so much for so long was back together again. After missing all of last year's spring training because of injuries, second baseman Chase Utley and first baseman Ryan Howard were playing and served as the primary reason for March optimism from a team trying to return to the playoffs.

Since 2007, the quartet of Utley, Howard, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, and catcher Carlos Ruiz has started more games at their respective positions for the Phillies than any other player. Shane Victorino is in that group, too - but he's gone, proof that the times, they are a changing.

And they are about to change some more.

The core four of Utley, Howard, Rollins, and Ruiz appear to have one more run at celebrating a second World Series title together, and that's mostly because the players of tomorrow appear almost ready to replace the veterans - at least some of them.

It's entirely possible that when the Phillies return to their spring training home in 2014 that neither Ruiz nor Utley will be with them. Both are entering the final year of their contracts. The team also brought in Michael Young to play third base this season via a trade with the Texas Rangers, but that could be a one-and-done situation for the seven-time all-star.

Howard, who is in the second year of a five-year deal, and Rollins, who is in the second year of a four-year deal, are the only two core players who appear guaranteed to be back a year from now.

It's entirely conceivable that the opening-day lineup in 2014 could have Cody Asche at third base, Freddy Galvis at second, and Tommy Joseph at catcher. In a blink of an eye, the Phillies would go from one of the oldest teams in the National League to one of the youngest.

"Our first priority is always in the now, but you always have to consider the future," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

Amaro admitted that he is constantly thinking about the potential 2014 lineup.

"Oh, yeah, I do it all the time," Amaro said. "We're paid to not just look at today but also to look at tomorrow and the next year and the next year. Could the lineup next year have guys like Asche and [Tyson] Gillies and [Darin] Ruf? It could very well. It could have a whole slew of guys."

The Phillies could be in the midst of their greatest transformation since the 2005 season, when Howard took over from an injured Jim Thome at first base and Utley led the team in games played at second base for the first time in his career. The lineup transformation continued over the next few years, with Ruiz becoming the primary catcher in 2007 and Victorino emerging as a mainstay, first in right field and then in center. Jayson Werth became a short-term part of the core, too.

The difference between then and now is that the new core was replacing a core that had not won anything. Utley and Ruiz are perhaps the two biggest fan favorites on the roster, so letting them walk will not be an easy decision.

"That's why we get paid the big bucks," Amaro said. "We have to make very difficult decisions. Do we let a star veteran walk? We did it with Burrell. I love Pat Burrell, and I loved what he did for our organization. But we made a tough decision, and we moved on. I hope I don't have to make those decisions, but I know I might have to."

Amaro said he'd prefer to have young players trickle in rather than come in a flood because that would mean the veterans were still playing at a high level.

"Pope [the late Phillies general manager Paul Owens] used to tell Ed [Wade] that if we can bring one guy a year to have an impact on us, then we've done our job," Amaro said. "We've got time with these guys. We don't have to rush them all to the big leagues at the same time. To me, if we can filter guys in who can make an impact on our club at a reasonable pace, we can make whatever transition . . . and we'll be retooling rather than rebuilding."

In Amaro's mind, the Phillies should never go into a season in rebuilding mode.

"You can talk about it in different ways," he said. "I talk more about retooling then rebuilding. This team doesn't necessarily need to be rebuilt once these core players get older. We have to do our jobs to try to fill in the pieces that will cover for them as their productivity goes down as they get closer and closer to free agency."

Amaro said there is a misperception about the young players with whom the Phillies will attempt to retool as the core that has achieved so much success ages.

ESPN's Keith Law ranked the Phillies' farm system No. 27 out of 30 teams this year, and lefthander Jesse Biddle was the only Phillies farmhand among his top 100 prospects. Baseball America, meanwhile, had the Phillies at 23d and ranked only Biddle and shortstop Roman Quinn among the top 100.

"I completely disagree with their assessment of our minor-league system," Amaro said. "Obviously every team loves their players more than every other team. But I'm very excited about the guys we have close - Asche and Joseph and Domonic Brown and other young players who are going to impact our club if not now then soon."

Brown, after an outstanding spring, is going to be in the Phillies' opening-day lineup for the first time, and the Phillies see Galvis as a future starting infielder. Asche and Joseph also impressed in limited playing time with the major-league club, and the Phillies also believe Jonathan Pettibone, Ethan Martin, and Adam Morgan all have a chance to be in the team's starting rotation in the near future.

What impressed Amaro about the young players who were in camp during this spring training was their presence and composure.

"My first big-league camp with the Angels, I was around Dave Winfield, Mark Langston, Dave Parker, and guys like that," Amaro said. "I was basically in awe. These guys were around Utley, Howard, and Michael Young, and they weren't nearly as in awe. I think that's what is special about these guys."

What does it mean for those guys to be in big-league clubhouse?

"They feel like they belong here," Amaro said.

Joseph, 21, had previously gone to spring training two other times with the San Francisco Giants, and his approach was to use the veterans as a learning tool.

"There I got to learn from Buster Posey, Chris Stewart, and Eli Whiteside. Here I get to learn from Carlos Ruiz, Erik Kratz, [Humberto] Quintero, [Steven] Lerud," Joseph said. "When I got to be around Buster, I always felt like he figured it out at a young age. So how can he help me figure it out at a young age?"

Joseph isn't in the big leagues yet, but he appears well on his way to figuring it out. He admits that every once in a while he thinks about catching at the big-league level, but he tries to suppress those thoughts when he's working.

"You always want to think that," he said. "You want to have that confidence and believe in yourself. But I do my best to try not to think about that stuff, and when I get an opportunity to play I just play, and hopefully I open some eyes and people can see that I can bring something to the team."

The Phillies saw it this spring training and not just from Joseph. It's clear a new era of ballplayers is coming to a ballpark near you - and possibly soon.