Gillick: Phillies looking to add lefty; Lohse not an option

The Phillies pitching this Spring Training has been so bad it's laughable. Every starter, with the exception of Brett Myers, has been shelled. The bullpen hasn't looked much better. Randy Miller at Phillyburbs.com wrote an interesting piece about the Phils pitching situation that addresses the current situation and even discusses some possible future moves.

GM Pat Gillick was interviewed in the article, and he mentioned that the Phillies are looking at acquiring another lefty reliever to go with J.C. Romero. Apparently Fabio Castro and Shane Youman aren't cutting it. Big surprise there. Gillick said "we'd like to have two left-handers in the 'pen if we can.” Gillick also eliminated any possibility of Kyle Lohse coming back, saying “we're not going down that road....we made Lohse an offer, and he decided to do something else".

It looks like the Phillies think they are set in terms of starting pitching, which means we can count on Adam Eaton starting the 5th game this year. Kris Benson will likely take over if/when Eaton struggles. In terms of the bullpen, it seems like the Phillies have been searching for another lefty for years. I have no clue who they are looking to acquire, or what it would take to get them. There have been some rumors floating around that the Dodgers, who are in need of a 3rd baseman, could be interested in Wes Helms. Maybe the Phillies could pry away a reliever from them, although it might be asking too much for a team to take on Helms' contract and give back a serviceable player.

Injury Updates (via Philly.com):
Adam Eaton said his back looks fine and he's ready to "pitch" again.
Brad Lidge is back to throwing again, and he thinks he could be ready for opening day.
Kris Benson also appears to be on target for a return in early April.