Phillies Top Scout Attending Yankees-Rangers Game Tuesday

Phillies top scout Charley Kerfeld is reportedly in attendance for Tuesday nights game in the Bronx

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline just a month away, the Phillies are apparently ramping up their major league scouting efforts.

According to Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice, Charley Kerfeld is in New York to scout the Yankees/Rangers game tonight. This creates an interesting flurry of potential trade options for the Phillies, who will most likely be sellers at the trade deadline once again.

Here are the starting lineups for tonight’s game and who Kerfeld, a former major league pitcher, could be looking at.

It’s interesting that the Phillies are sending their top scout to a major league game, and not a minor league one.

When looking at the Yankees depth chart, there aren’t many younger players worth trading for. C.C. Sabathia will be pitching, so he or any other starting pitcher are off the list. Of the nine hitters in the starting lineup, five are 32-years-old or older. That leaves catcher Austin Romine, outfielder Aaron Hicks, shortstop Didi Gregorious, and second baseman Starlin Castro as younger options for a rebuilding team .

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Considering the Phillies are well stocked at the shortstop and catching position, I doubt Romine or Gregorious are in play.

That leaves outfielder Aaron Hicks and infielder Starlin Castro. Hicks is an underperforming player for the Yankees over his four major league seasons, hitting just .223 for his career. That scratches him off the list.

Castro on the other hand is 26-years-old, yet it feels like he has been in the major leagues forever. He is hitting .253 this season with 10 home runs this season after being traded by the Cubs. He would be an offensive upgrade to Andres Blanco and Cesar Hernandez, while also providing some veteran presence in the locker-room.

On the other side of the diamond sit the Texas Rangers, who the Phillies have dealt with in the past, most recently with tonight’s starting pitcher, Cole Hamels, just last year. Texas has a much younger lineup, with only four of their starters 32 or older: Choo, Beltre, Fielder, Wilson.

If you take out shortstop Elvis Andrus, that leaves you with Ian Desmond, Rougned Odor (the guy who punched Bautista), Jurickson Profar (former top prospect), and outfielder Ryan Rua.

Ian Desmond was a last-minute free agent signee by Texas, who is hitting .321 and playing mostly center field this season. At the age of 30 though, I don’t see the Phillies going after a guy on a one-year deal at that age nonetheless.

Rua has played three seasons in Texas with a .264 batting average and only 12 home runs. This season in 50 games he is hitting a much-improved .284. Not anything flashy, but a potential option if the Phillies are looking for corner outfield depth.

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After not playing in the majors since 2013, the Rangers former top infield prospect Jurickson Profar is hitting an impressive .348 in 25 games this season. He has experience at second, third, short, and a little outfield.

Relief pitchers could certainly be in play, but I doubt the Phillies would send one of their top scouts to watch a reliever. Acquiring a reliever in this stage of a rebuild is also a luxury the Phillies can’t afford right now.

With the Yankees having so many older players, it would make sense the Phillies are once again looking at the Rangers as potential trade partners. It would be a much shorter trip for Phillies scouts to see a game in New York rather than down in Texas.

If they are looking at anyone, I would think it would be either Rougned Odor or Jurickson Profar to play second base. The only legitimate second baseman the Phillies have in their system is Scott Kingery, who is a long ways away from being a major league player as he develops in Clearwater.

If the Phillies were looking at the Yankees, the only person who makes half-sense is Starlin Castro. He’s a younger second baseman who carries a big contract, which makes me hesitate to think it would be him.

Should a player such as Jurickson Profar be the Phillies target in another trade with the Rangers, the Phillies would have to make this a buy/sell type of deal to get such a highly touted player who finally looks to be healthy after suffering a torn labrum. The switch-hitter has not played any NL East teams in his young career, but he hits .321 against the National League in 17 career games.

Former scout and baseball exec Tony Blengino said of all the players he has scouted in his career, only two shortstops have ranked higher than Profar: Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Correa.

MLB.com had Profar ranked as the 11th best prospect in all of baseball back in 2011, ahead of Zack Wheeler, Miguel Sano, Chris Archer, Jose Iglesias, and some guy named Matt Harvey.

In 2012, he was ranked the number one prospect in all of baseball, and dubbed the “next” Mike Trout/Bryce Harper five-tool player.

The Rangers need starting pitching with Yu Darvis, Colby Lewis, and Derek Holland on the disabled list. That could mean Jeremy Hellickson, who is on a one year deal with the Phillies. It could also mean Carlos Ruiz would be reunited with Cole Hamels, as the Rangers have no reliable depth at catcher. Ruiz is also in the last year of the guaranteed portion of his contract, so I would imagine another younger player might have to be thrown into this potential trade.

Ruben Amaro Jr. depleted the Rangers farm system in the Hamels trade last year, so trading a prospect towards the bottom stages of the Phillies farm system (Clearwater, Lakewood) could be an option. Outfielder Carlos Tocci, shortstop Malquin Canelo, or any other prospect of that level could possibly be involved in a potential trade.

Here is a possible trade scenario this could mean:

The Phillies would probably want a lower-level starter from the Rangers in a deal like this, so Double-A pitcher Connor Sadzeck makes sense.

While some of this is hypothetical, it makes sense for both teams. The Rangers are the first team in baseball to reach 50 wins, but health is an issue for them. Getting someone such as Hellickson in the rotation behind that offense would be big for them. Reuniting Ruiz and Hamels also makes sense, while giving Ruiz the ability to leave a champion should the Rangers finally win a World Series.

For the Phillies, Profar can play multiple positions, but fills an immediate need at second base. If he plays as well as he is expected to, he is their long-term option in a rebuild. Should Scott Kingery develop at second down in the minors in a couple of years, moves can be made. Profar could also be an outfield or first base option in the future, as he is signed through 2020.

It will surely be an exciting time in Philadelphia as the trade deadline approaches once again.

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