General manager Ned Colletti attempted to rein in expectations that he will acquire an ace pitcher over the offseason.
"Every club needs an ace and we're not unlike any club," said Colletti. "We might have one or two in the making [referring to Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley]. But the likelihood of an ace becoming available by trade is very slim. And this [free-agent] class doesn't have that type of allure to it." Ned, meet Roy Halladay. Colletti is surely bluffing, since the team's need for an ace is abundantly clear. As of now, only Kershaw, Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda are expected to return in 2010. Jon Garland, Vicente Padilla and Randy Wolf are all eligible for free agency. |