The Philadelphia Phillies don’t need a lot after already bringing Ty Wigginton, Jim Thome and Jonathan Papelbon into the fold. But, these are three free agents that I would bring in if I were running the team:

1. Rafael Furcal - Righty swinging shortstop Rafael Furcal would be a solid replacement if Jimmy Rollins decides to leave the Phillies (which is a distinct possibility). A healthy Furcal is essentially a cheaper version of Jimmy Rollins.

2. Reed Johnson - The Phillies could use a guy like outfielder Reed Johnson off the bench. He can handle all three outfield slots defensively and he’s a good hitter off the bench. Don’t forget that he likes to get dirty, so he would fit right in on the Phillies.

3. Joel Peralta - The Phillies are rebuilding the bullpen and Peralta would be a nice set-up man for Jonathan Papelbon.

The Phillies have acquired 34-year old righty swinging 1B/3B Ty Wigginton from the Colorado Rockies for either a player to be named later or cash. Wigginton played in 130 games for the Rockies last year and he was 97 for 401 (.242 avg, .731 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 15 homers, 47 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,190 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 1,087 of 4,107 (.265 avg, .768 OPS) with 509 runs scored, 158 homers, 548 RBIs and 41 stolen bases. Wigginton will start at 1B until Ryan Howard is ready for action and he can also fill in at 3B if Placido Polanco he has injury problems once again in 2012.

34-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Halladay finished 2nd in the voting for the 2011 N.L. Cy Young Award, behind only the deserving Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. Halladay pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Phillies last year and he was 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has now pitched in 378 games (352 starts) in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 188-92 with 1 save, a 3.23 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Halladay is a true ace and he is showing no signs of slowing down, so don’t be surprised if he wins another Cy Young Award or two before he’s done pitching.

UPDATE: (11/23/2011) - Roy Halladay also finished #9 in the voting for the 2011 N.L. MVP Award yesterday.

33-year old lefty Cliff Lee was awesome in his return to the Phillies in 2011. The result was that he finished 3rd in the voting for the N.L. Cy Young Award in 2011. Lee pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Phillies last year and he was 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He has now pitched in 254 games (250 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 119-69 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Lee seems to keep getting better with age and that has to scare the rest of the N.L. East.

UPDATE: (11/23/2011) - Cliff Lee finished 15th in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award yesterday.

27-year old lefty starting pitcher Cole Hamels finished 5th in the voting for the N.L. Cy Young Award. Hamels pitched in 32 games (31 starts) for the Phillies last year and he was 14-9 with a 2.70 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He has now pitched in 181 games (180 starts) in his first six years with the Phillies and he is 74-54 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Hamels has the potential to win the Cy Young Award but he has to outpitch Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee on his own pitching staff first to do that.

The Phillies have re-signed 34-year old lefty swinging catcher Brian Schneider to a 1-year deal. He played in 41 games for the Phillies last year and he was 22 for 125 (.176 avg, .502 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Schneider has now played in 88 games in his first two years with the Phillies and he is 52 for 250 (.208 avg, .617 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 6 homers and 24 RBIs. He has now played in 1,014 games in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 761 for 3,076 (.247 avg, .690 OPS) with 275 runs scored, 65 homers, 380 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. It was smart to bring back Schneider as he knows the pitching staff well and he can give Carlos Ruiz a day off when he needs one.

67-year old Charlie Manuel finished in 4th place in the voting for the N.L. Manager of the Year Award in 2011. The Phillies won the N.L. East with a 102-60 record (63%) in 2011. Manuel now has a 866-678 (56.1%) record in his first 10 years as a manager in the major leagues. Manuel was punished in the voting because the Phillies have essentially turned into the National League version of the Yankees, so success is expected.

The Phillies have acquired 24-year old righty reliever Adam Worthington from the D-Backs to complete the deal involving Mike Zagurski. Worthingon pitched in 45 games (0 starts) in A-ball last year and he was 4-4 with 2 saves, a 4.48 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 84 games (9 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 14-14 with 4 saves, a 4.34 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. This was a good deal for the Phillies as Zagurski wasn’t going to help them any time soon.

24-year old righty starting pitcher Vance Worley finished in 3rd place in the voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year. He pitched in 25 games (21 starts) for the Phillies last year and he was 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Worley has now pitched in 30 games (23 starts) in his first two years with the Phillies and he is 12-4 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Worley was a lifesaver for the Phillies last season when Roy Oswalt when down to injury. He will likely have the inside track to the #5 spot in the rotation next spring for the Phillies.

The Phillies have signed 30-year old righty closer Jonathan Papelbon to a 4-year deal that can be worth up to $50 million bucks. Papelbon pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last year and he was 4-1 with 31 saves, a 2.94 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He has now pitched in 396 games (3 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 23-19 with 219 saves, a 2.33 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. Papelbon has only given up 322 hits in his first 429 1/3 innings in the majors while whiffing 509 batters, as he is just plain nasty. This is a HUGE improvement for the Phillies as Papelbon is one of the best lockdown closers in all of baseball.