March 28 -- TRADE WINDS

Good morning.

A few moments after last night's game ended, I passed GM Pat Gillick on a stairway that leads from the box seats to the Phillies' third-floor executive office at Bright House. He was moving quickly and seemed deep in thought, and it made me wonder if something was afoot on the trade front.

After all, the Marlins swung a deal Monday to acquire hard-throwing RHP Jorge Julio from the Diamondbacks for B-level pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit. I covered Petit in the minors with the Mets, and while he was effective in Double-A, most scouts have serious questions about whether he can sustain success at the major-league level. In other words, it would seem the Marlins, who needed a closer, got a steal.

Indications are the Phillies weren't interested in Julio, even though his 4.23 ERA last season was better than Ryan Madson (5.69) and Antonio Alfonseca (5.63) and he was a closer for three years with the Orioles. But all we keep hearing from Gillick & Co. is that teams are hoarding their pitching, making it nearly impossible for the Phillies to acquire the reliever they so crave. It seems to me, at least, that Julio would've improved the bullpen and may have been had for a pittance.

Also this week, RHP Elmer Dessens, who impresses me less than Julio, was traded from the Dodgers to the Brewers for OF Brady Clark, and RHP Ezequiel Astacio was claimed off waivers by the Rangers. The Phillies may have been intrigued by Astacio, but the Rangers were ahead of them in the waiver pecking order.

So, with the Phillies set to leave Florida tomorrow night, Gillick still searches.