Phillies: Five MLB Trade Deadline Takeaways

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Jul 11, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz (51) greets first baseman Ryan Howard (6) after his solo home run in the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports /

Takeaway Four: The quiet deadline does not change the timeline of the rebuild.

This is a two-part takeaway, so I am sort of cheating. Part one is about how and why it was extremely quiet. The second part focuses on how it does not hurt what they are trying to do moving forward into the next part of their organizational progress.

This year’s deadline was not nearly as exciting as last year’s when the Phillies sold off numerous pieces to restock a barren system. And that’s ok. I am going to look at this from a perspective of the teams around baseball.

The players we had on the market (Velasquez, Hellickson, Cameron Rupp Jeanmar Gomez, and Hector Nerris) are guys who are having nice seasons, but do not have extraordinary track records overall.

Aug 2, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp (29) rounds third base after his three run home run during the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Giants, 13-8. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

Rupp is a guy that had minimal mention and it was mostly local. However, I would be stunned if Klentak did not bring him up in conversations with the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers because of their catching needs. He is 29 years of age and is having a top five offensive season among catchers. However, as will become a trend as you continue reading, he has not done it for long enough.

Nerris is in his first year of being truly effective. It may bode well for the Phillies because I believe he has incredible stuff to hold up the backend of the bullpen for the foreseeable future. He and Eudobray Ramos could be a very fun combination to watch in the upcoming seasons.

Gomez had a solid season last year, but does not have what other teams envision to be dominant closer stuff. That phrase drives me crazy because he can come in and get three outs. Is that not what truly matters? Come in the game…from the bullpen…in the ninth inning…and get three outs.

We already discussed the other two names. I really feel as though the Phillies chips were incredibly undervalued on the market. There is nothing wrong with that from the perspectives of other teams, but in the same breath, nothing wrong with Klentak holding onto them since he did not get what he thought the organization deserved in return.

Next: Take Four: Part Two

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