Phillies rumor: Klentak prepared to cash in on Pat Neshek at trade deadline

Could the Phillies cheapest offseason acquisition bring the Phillies the biggest bang for their buck?

In November little was thought of the Phillies acquiring veteran set-up man Pat Neshek from Houston for a player to be named later.

Seven months later the Phillies have an opportunity to swap the 36-year-old reliever for a package of young impact players.

A baseline for general manager Matt Klentak will be the Andrew Miller trade between the Yankees and Indians last offseason. The deal for OF Clint Frazier (Cleveland’s number two prospect), LHP Justus Sheffield (#6), RHP J.P. Feyereisen, and RHP Ben Heller.

Could the Phillies get a collection of a franchise’s top prospects for a pitcher they paid nothing for?

Here’s where Neshek’s numbers this year and Miller’s last compare leading to the trade deadline

In 44 games leading to the deadline, Miller pitched 45.1 innings with a 6-1 record, nine saves, and 16 holds for the Yankees. Neshek’s win-loss and save numbers aren’t as bulked up as Miller because the Phillies haven’t had as many opportunities to place him in those situations.

The numbers for late-inning relievers in the later portions of their career are close if you average them out over a full season. In some ways, Neshek’s are better.

Miller is slightly younger and a lefty certainly helped his value, but if Neshek’s ERA and strikeouts continue to trend in the proper direction Klentak could be in for a hectic July.

Next: Franco the new Domonic Brown?

Philadelphia will be searching for either a young impact bat or an arm ready to make a major league impact. Fraizer will do that for the Yankees, and the Phillies will hope for a prospect as strong as him.