3rd base a concern for the Phillies entering free agency

The Philadelphia Phillies will be looking for a replacement at third base this offseason after seven players who played at that position managed only five home runs and 42 RBIs. Though some players like Kevin Frandsen and Freddy Galvis showed potential, Bob Brookover at Philly.com believes that general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. does have options to fill third base from within the organization:

"The Phillies have some decent minor-league prospects at third, with the closest to the big leagues being Cody Asche, who hit a combined .324 at single-A Clearwater and double-A Reading last season. He is playing in the Arizona Fall League."

However, Amaro believes that Asche is at least one, maybe one-and-a-half years away from taking the everyday duties at third base. Brookover does mention several players in his article that the Phillies could either sign in free agency or trade for for a short term solution.

The players he lists in his article include Kevin Youkilis of the Chicago White Sox, Marco Scutaro of the San Francisco Giants, Alex Rodriguez and Eric Chavez of the New York Yankees, Jeff Keppinger of the Tampa Bay Rays, David Wright of the New York Mets and Mike Olt of the Texas Rangers.

Brookover goes over the pros and cons of each player. When talking about Rodriguez, Brookover thinks that while it is highly unlikely that he would get traded to the Phillies, he thinks he could be a 30-home run hitter thanks to playing at Citizen's Bank Park. But the financial burden of the Yankees to eat the rest of his contract could be a problem.