With five cemented starters in the rotation, it would appear as though the Phillies have found the second lefthanded arm for the bullpen that they have coveted all year. Touted prospect J.A. Happ was recalled to the big league club from AAA on Tuesday, replacing former starter Adam Eaton. Happ has allowed just four runs in two big league starts this season, but with all five starting pitchers in place, it would appear that his role the second time around will be out of the bullpen. Or will it…..

Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel stated to the media Tuesday that while Happ is starting this stint in the bullpen, he views him as a starting pitcher, not a reliever.

Responding to a question about whether Happ will get another shot at starting this season, Manuel replied

“Without a doubt there’s a chance, yes,” Manuel said. “We liked what Happ showed us.”

So what does that mean for the other five starters already in the rotation?

“It means we’re trying to get our starting pitching straightened out where we like it,” Manuel said. “That’s what that means. Two-thirds of the season is gone and we’re trying to still find the best starting rotation we can put on the field.”

It appears that the Phillies’ skipper was putting his starters on notice, particularly Brett Myers, Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick.

“One of the reasons [we brought him up] was we figured he’s the best guy we had in Lehigh Valley and also he pitched two good ballgames up here and we liked the way he pitched,” Manuel said. “And that means that he might be better than someone we have. We just want to see him pitch more.”

Myers has struggled mightily this year, recording just his fourth win of the season Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals, his first since May 30. He spent three weeks in AAA trying to work out the problems in his command and velocity, as well as trying to get his “swagger” back. In his second start since returning from the minors, Myers looked solid, although it was against the worst team in the league and it is evident he still has some minor kinks to work out. Myers is viewed as they key piece to the puzzle if the Phillies hope to make the playoffs this year.

Recently acquired Joe Blanton has been less than stellar in his abbreviated two starts with the Phillies. In his last start Blanton only went two innings due to an extended rain delay. He did, however, manage to give up two runs before being chased off by the rain. Blanton has pitched relatively well in his short time in Philly and has been more the victim of untimely mistakes than poor pitching. That being said, it won’t matter what the reasoning is if he continues to give up runs as he has so far. Blanton struggled in Oakland with the Athletics before the trade, going 5-12 with an ERA of almost 5, but has shown an ability in the past to win. Last year Blanton won 14 games, and won 16 games in 2006. He is a contact pitcher who looks to get guys out early and often, which could conceivably pose some problems for him in hitter friendly Citizen’s Bank Park.

With less than 24 hours to go in the MLB trade deadline, it looks increasingly like Blanton is going to end up being the Phillies major trade market acquisition and this puts a lot of pressure on the young righty. Coming into this season, and through the better part of it so far, the conventional wisdom was that the Phillies were in need of another legitimate number two or three starting pitcher. This deficiency was made even more evident when the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs acquired CC Sabathia and Rich Harden, respectively. The Phillies then went out and got Blanton, Harden’s teammate in Oakland, after a lot of speculation that they were pursuing Mariners’ disgruntled ace Erik Bedard. Many have questioned the acquisition of Blanton when the need for a starting pitcher was so obvious and when it appears that the Cubs got the significantly better Harden for less than the Phillies got Blanton for. Blanton is under a lot of pressure to succeed and prove Phillies General Manager Pat Gillick right.

Speaking of pressure, the pressure is not as intense for the other Phillies’ starter seemingly put on notice, Kyle Kendrick. The expectations are significantly lower for Kendrick, just in his second season in the majors. Kendrick surprised many last year as the Phillies White Knight, going 10-4 in 20 games with an ERA of just 3.87. This season, however, he has somewhat fallen victim to the Sophomore Slump, going 8-5 in 21 games with an ERA of 4.70.

In Kendrick’s defense, he has largely been the victim of poor run performance, a concept unheard of coming into this year’s season. With a lineup consisting reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins, former MVP Ryan Howard, perennial All Star and MVP candidate Chase Utley, and perennial should have been an All Star Pat Burrell, many thought that offense would have been the last worry for the Phillies this year. They have struggled at the plate in the last two months, scoring 222 runs since June 1. Taking out the 20-2 game against the Cardinals in June, they scored a measly 202 runs. The Phillies scored 302 runs in April and May.

If Happ doesn’t get traded before next season, he will almost certainly fill one of the five spots in the starting rotation, most likely Jamie Moyer’s, as he will in all likelihood retire after the end of this season. This season, he is waiting in the wings, ready for the call at a moment’s notice. With this team’s rotation, that call could come any day.