New GM likes Phillies' up-the-middle strength

BOCA RATON, Fla. - If he had to ask manager Pete Mackanin to put together a starting lineup for a random, unscheduled, pre-Thanksgiving exhibition game in the coming weeks, new Phillies general manager Matt Klentak thinks he has enough capable players on the roster to make it happen.

Nearly every position player who finished the 2015 season on the roster remains under contract for 2016. The Phillies are focusing more on adding pitching than position players through free agency and trades this offseason.

Still, that doesn't necessarily mean the names you saw in the final lineup card last month will be the same ones in the same places come Opening Day in Cincinnati on April 4.

"One of the beauties, mostly on the position player side, is most of the team that was on the field that ended the year last year returns next year," Klentak said this week at the General Managers Meetings, which concluded Thursday. "That doesn't mean we're going to stop trying to find alternatives or upgrades or just build depth. But I think most of those guys can be in contention for jobs next year for sure."

One obvious place they'll likely look to add depth is in the outfield, where only three players are on the current 40-man roster: rookie Aaron Altherr and converted infielders Cody Asche and Odubel Herrera. Veteran Jeff Francoeur remains an option to return, but now that the free agency season is underway, he's also free to shop around and listen to other teams.

The Phillies' front office also has an obvious eye on its own farm system, and what might be on the horizon in the coming year or two. In the outfield, Nick Williams and Roman Quinn, who can both play centerfield, aren't too far away, while shortstop J.P. Crawford and catchers Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp are possibilities to be on the big-league roster before the end of 2016.

If pitching at the major league level and upper levels of the minor leagues is thin, Klentak believes the Phillies' strength is the strong core in the middle of the diamond, players who are either on the major league roster or aren't too far away from making the jump.

"I think that is pretty good," Klentak said of his position player depth. "And I think what's exciting to me about that is most of those guys play the middle of the field . . . If you have two shortstops or two centerfielders, it's not the end of the world to move one of those guys off of shortstop to second or third base, or from centerfield to left or right. I think that's a positive for us. And I'm not entirely sure we don't have pitching depth, either. I think some of that might be lower down in the system. With (Aaron) Harang and (Jerome) Williams departing as free agents, we just need to make sure we're targeting that this offseason."

Among prospects, Klentak said any with a "reasonable expectation of being in the big leagues" in the upcoming season would be a strong bet to receive an invite to big-league camp this spring. Translation: Expect to see Crawford, Williams, Knapp, Alfaro and righthanders Jake Thompson and Zach Eflin and lefthanded reliever Tom Windle in the big-league clubhouse in Clearwater, Fla., come February.

At last year's GM Meetings, Ryan Howard's name found its way into trade rumors. But after the Phillies tried to trade him throughout the winter and found no takers, it would appear likely that Howard will finish his contact in Philadelphia.

Howard is still owed $35 million: $25 in salary this season, $10 million buyout for 2017. At some point this offseason, Klentak said he plans to have a conversation with Howard's representatives.

"That's one I'm going to handle - I'm going to try to be as respectful as I can to that one just because of what Ryan has meant to our city and our fans and to our franchise," Klentak said this week. "It remains to be seen (if he's with us in 2016). But if we end up playing out the season with Ryan Howard as our first baseman, we'd be OK with it."

Howard, who turns 36 next week, hit .229 with a .720 OPS and 23 home runs in 129 games in 2015. Howard's .443 slugging percentage ranked 14th out of 18 qualifying major league first basemen.

The Phillies continued to add veteran inventory to their relief corps Thursday when they signed lefthanded reliever James Russell to a minor league contract.

Russell, who turns 30 in January, will compete for a big league job in major league camp this spring. A six-year veteran, Russell went 0-2 with a 5.29 ERA in 49 games with the Chicago Cubs last season. Lefthanders have hit .245 with a .689 OPS against Russell during his career.

Russell is the second acquisition Klentak has made since being hired as the Phillies new GM on Oct. 26. The Phillies claimed another reliever - righthanded veteran Dan Otero - off waivers last week.

Otero and Russell could both add a veteran presence to a mostly inexperienced major league bullpen in 2016.

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese