This deal involves six of the Phillies top-12 prospects and a major league player.
All the names mentioned are familiar in this article with the exception of Brito, the organization’s 12th ranked prospect. Signed out of Venezuela in 2014, Brito is just 20-years-old and was moved up to Clearwater during the season. After hitting .252 in 92 games with Lakewood he was promoted to Clearwater where he continues to hit in the .250s with plenty of speed and defense.
Philadelphia Phillies
Ortiz is an athletic corner outfielder with some of the best raw power in the minor leagues. He hit 13 home runs for Single-A Lakewood this year, but his batting average dropped off into the .220s after hitting over .300 last year. He’s just 19-years-old and doesn’t turn 20 until November 2018, giving himself more room to grow.
Brito might be a utility glove with an average bat in the future, but he’s a prospect the Angels could see in the big leagues in just a couple of years.
Moving Sanchez and Haseley, two of the top four prospects, hurst but again, the return is there at the major league level. Ortiz is a young developing bat for the Angels organization that will boost their farm system ranking. De Los Santos could step into the major league rotation on day one, and Herrera starts in center field in place of Trout. It’s a drop off, but Herrera has shown he has a batting title in him. It just takes the right people to pull it out of him.
Giving up three of the young pitchers in your minor league system hurts, but again, it’s Trout we’re talking about.
Ultimately I don’t think any of these deals in their current form gets Mike Trout into a Phillies uniform, but they move the needle in the right direction for both sides. The first deal feels like the most likely offer, in my opinion, but it’s tough to ask an organization like the Phillies to move so many prospects for one player after years of scouting and developing.
It’s in the Angels best interest to move Trout at some point, and given his ties to the Philadelphia area we can only hope this is where Trout ultimately lands.