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Phillies GM Matt Klentak hopes to improve roster before trade deadline, but tempers expectations for a blockbuster move

"We have to recognize where we are and we have to make moves that are appropriate," the general manager said Tuesday.

Phillies general manager Matt Klentak has some decisions to make before the July 31 trade deadline.
Phillies general manager Matt Klentak has some decisions to make before the July 31 trade deadline.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

DETROIT -- Eight days before the trade deadline was still too soon for Matt Klentak to predict with any authority whether the Phillies will make big moves, small moves or no moves at all.

Mostly, the general manager is focused on making proportional moves.

Klentak met the Phillies at Comerica Park on Tuesday for a two-game interleague series against the Detroit Tigers. Like club president Andy MacPhail two weeks ago, he pointed to the Phillies’ position in the standings -- 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves, but only a half-game out of a wild-card spot entering the day -- and said the team is unlikely to trade a future asset for short-term help.

"We have to recognize where we are and we have to make moves that are appropriate," Klentak said. "We're going to continue to push. We're going to continue to try. We wouldn't have made the moves that we've made in recent days [signing lefty Drew Smyly and trading for reliever Mike Morin] if we weren't doing that."

In explaining how the Phillies might choose to go forward in the days leading up to July 31 -- and possibly as a way of lowering fans’ expectations, too -- Klentak found it helpful to look to the past.

He noted that the Phillies were three games out of first place at the trade deadline in 2007 when they acquired starter Kyle Lohse in a minor deal for middling prospect Matt Maloney. But they had a six-game lead in the division in 2009 when they pulled off a blockbuster for Cliff Lee. They were not yet established as a World Series contender in 2008 when they traded for Joe Blanton at the deadline. Two years later, they were overwhelming favorites to win the pennant when they traded for Roy Oswalt.

Get the idea?

"I think in a lot of respects the record at the deadline and your proximity to the playoffs will dictate what you do," Klentak said. "We've made a few moves so far, lower-acquisition-cost type moves, and we're exploring whatever else may be out there in the next week."

If the Phillies make what typically would be considered a big trade, Klentak said they will focus more on players they can control beyond the final two months of this season. The problem, of course, is that the return for those players -- Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd, for instance -- figures to be greater than for, say, San Francisco Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner and others who can be free agents at the end of the season.

"I would expect if we made a more substantial trade that it would be for a controllable player, but I don't know if that's going to come together," Klentak said. "We're going to continue to explore everything that's out there. I've been on the phone a lot today, just like yesterday, just like the day before. I expect it will be that way, even more so, over the next eight days. We'll see what comes together."

One thing that Klentak isn’t concerned about: the Phillies not having enough talent in the farm system to pull off a big trade.

"I don't worry about having enough talent to acquire players," Klentak said. "I'm confident that we could do that. It's really about building an organization that can sustain its competitiveness for a long period of time. In order to do that, we have to preserve young talent."

And if the Phillies don't make a splash?

“I think our fans are very knowledgeable and will understand the reasons behind what we do or what we don’t do,” Klentak said. “It’s the end of July, we’re a half-game out of the wild card, and we’re in a position to explore the trade market. We’re competitive.”