Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Phillies, despite being right up against the luxury tax, are very interested in signing a right-handed bat off the bench that can also play the outfield. Cafardo specifically names Vladimir Guerrero, Magglio Ordonez, Xavier Nady, and Manny Ramirez as potential targets.

Who makes the most sense?

Vladimir Guerrero, who turned 37 on February 9th, spent 2011 in Baltimore, his fourth team in his fifteen year career, where he batted .290/.317/.416 with 13 Home Runs and 63 RBI. He only struck out 56 times in 562 At Bats, and walked 17 times. His 56 Ks in 562 At Bats is good for a strikeout rate of only 9.5%. Out of all the players on the Phillies roster, only Placido Polanco (8.4%), and Jimmy Rollins (9.4%) struck out at a lower clip. Guerrero played in 145 games in 2011, and started 137 of them. All 137 starts were at DH, so though offensively talented, he would not be the best defensive option. Vlady also made $7.6 million with the Orioles last year, and stated as late as last week that he wants a guarenteed $5 million contract. Financially, it wouldn’t work, unless he really, really wants that ring he doesn’t have. Otherwise, there’s no reason for him to come here. He is also only 51 Homers from 500, and 410 hits from 3000, so he wouldn’t be able to make a huge dent in those milestone chases with Philly.

Magglio Ordonez is another veteran striving for his first ring, a theme that is becoming common in the Phillies clubhouse. Ordonez turned 38 in January. He was injured in much of 2011 for the Tigers, and only played in 92 games. He batted .255/.303/.331 with 5 HR and 32 RBI and posted career lows in numerous categories. Magglio has said he is willing to play one more season, though no team has even offered him a contract as of yet. He made $10 million last year, though would be lucky to sniff anything more than a Spring Training Invite. Defensively, Magglio made 69 starts in Right Field last season, and made no errors. He spent the rest of the season, 21 games, DH’ing. He did, however, fracture his ankle during the ALCS last year, so he could be a question mark defensively. In fact, he’s still waiting for medical approval to play, though that should be coming any day now. His health concerns have generally kept teams away from him so far.

Xavier Nady, 33, is by far the youngest out of the four. He played in only 82 games last year for the Diamondbacks, batting .248/.287/.359 with 4 Home Runs and 35 RBI. He did fracture his hand in August. Nady, though technically winning a ring with the Yankees in 2009, only played 7 games that year, as he injured his elbow in early April and required Tommy John surgery, so perhaps there is some drive there. Defensively, Nady played 52 games at first and made three errors. He played 10 games in left field and made none. He only made $1.75 million for the D-Backs last year, though reports state he would accept a minor league deal.

Then you have Manny. Do I really need to say anything? The 39-year old (soon to be 40 in May) Ramirez only played in 5 games last year for the Rays, going 1-for-17 before getting suspended, and subsequently retiring, after he failed a drug test. He started in 4 games, all of them at DH, so basically he’s an all-around question mark. I would say he would probably be a clubhouse cancer, but if there’s anybody who can prevent Manny from being Manny it’s his old coach Charlie Manuel. It would take only a spring training invite to sign Ramirez, but is it really worth it? Oh, and he has to serve a 50-game suspension before he even steps on a diamond.

Offensively, without a doubt the best fit is Vladdy Guerrero. Defensively, the better player is Magglio Ordonez. Fincancially, Vlad is out. Manny and Nady should accept minor league deals, though Magglio’s desires monetarily are unknown. With all factors in consideration, I’d say the best option for the Phillies is Magglio Ordonez. He is the only one of the four who has been good defensively as of late, and if that foot heals up he should be a threat off the bench.

Of course, this is assuming the Phillies don’t stand pat with the team they have right now. Magglio would make the competition in Spring Training for that last outfielder spot all the more interesting though. Juan Pierre, Scott Podsednik and Domonic Brown are the other outfielders who are expected to fight for that last spot.