Phillies trade rumors: Team looking to move veteran relievers
By John Town
The Phillies have added two more names to their trading block as they are looking to move two veteran relievers this offseason.
The Phillies have made it known that they are ready to be players this offseason; John Middleton said as much at the owner’s meetings. They are ready to spend big in free agency but are also expected to be active in the trade market.
Carlos Santana, Maikel Franco, and Cesar Hernandez are all players who could realistically be moved this offseason. Jon Heyman of Fancred reported that two more players are on the trading block:
phillies not only have carlos santana on the block, as @Ken_Rosenthal said but also tommy hunter and pat neshek. the relievers had solid years, but with so many quality bullpen arms on the free agent market, timing for trades may not be easy
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 21, 2018
Hunter and Neshek haven’t really been brought up in trade discussions up to this point. However, there is still some logic in trading them. The two are owed $16 million combined next year, with Neshek holding a $7 million team option for the 2020 season. Shedding some of that salary couldn’t hurt.
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Hunter started off the 2018 season poorly but ultimately finished with respectable numbers. In 65 appearances, he had a 3.80 ERA, 3.63 fielding-independent pitching, and 1.250 WHIP. He struck out 51 batters and walked 15 in 64 innings pitched.
Neshek missed the first three months of the season due to a right shoulder strain. When he returned, he was effective with a 2.59 ERA, 1.151 WHIP, and 3.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He wasn’t pitching as well as 2017 when he was Philadelphia’s All-Star, but he still pitched well as a whole.
The two big questions regarding any potential Neshek and/or Hunter trades are 1) what would the team get in return and 2) who would replace them?
To answer the first question, we could use previous Neshek trades as a model for a potential trade this offseason. When the Phillies acquired him during the 2016-17 offseason, they only sent the Astros a player to be named later. At the 2017 trade deadline, with Neshek pitching at an All-Star level, they received three low-to-mid-tier prospects in a trade with the Rockies.
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A trade this offseason would likely fall somewhere in the middle of those two trades. Neshek and Hunter aren’t coming off particularly strong seasons, and as Heyman noted, there are plenty of quality arms available in free agency. On the other hand, don’t expect Philadelphia to trade these guys for nothing.
In terms of who fills their spots, the team added prospect Edgar Garcia to the 40-man roster even though he did not need Rule 5 protection.
He could have the inside track to a bullpen role. A trade of Hunter and/or Neshek would also allow the team to move one of their starters to the bullpen as they will have too many pitchers for too few spots, especially if they wind up signing someone in free agency.
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With the Hot Stove fully cooking, it will be interesting to see which players wind up getting moved this offseason.