Five players the Phillies could trade for at the deadline
By Koy Zdimal
Manny Machado – SS, Baltimore Orioles
The hottest commodity come July will be Manny Machado. It seems like the Phillies will be in a battle with the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs to land the superstar shortstop. Machado is a hot trade piece this season and is also a leading member of the loaded 2018-2019 free agency class. The Phils could try to land him in July and keep him around for years to come.
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Machado has upped his trade value by bouncing back from a rough year to being in the midst of a career season. He is hitting .322 with 15 home runs and 44 RBI. In the AL he is in the top 10 in batting average (6th), home runs (T-4th), RBI (T-1st), on-base percentage (7th), slugging percentage (4th), OPS (4th), and hits (3rd). Not to mention he is arguably the best defender in the league.
The only question is what the team would be willing to give up to get the star shortstop. Personally, I think the only untouchables should be Scott Kingery, Sixto Sanchez and maybe Adam Hasley. Besides that, I think anything is possible to bring in the MVP candidate Machado.
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While we are just a bit over a quarter of the way into the season the Phillies have proven to be serious contenders. The roster is covered with question marks and inconsistency and could use some refining as the deadline approaches. One move might be all it takes for them to make a deep playoff run.