Today in the Philadelphia Daily News, Ryan Lawrence takes stock of Ruben Amaro's offseason moves.
The Philadelphia Phillies are kind of in an odd place on the baseball landscape right now. It would've been a mistake for Amaro to throw some pricey older free agents onto a roster that's already older and too expensive. But at the same time, Philadelphia has too many good players -- Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, in particular -- to completely retreat.
So Amaro has worked within the parameters defined by the team's budget limitations. Because of the salary obligations to Lee (owed at least $87.5 million over the next three seasons), Ryan Howard (owed at least $105 million over the next four seasons), Hamels (who will make about $24 million annually over the next six seasons) and Chase Utley (who is entering the final year of his contract, and will make $15 million), the Phillies went for more modest upgrades.