Ranking the Phillies’ biggest trade needs this season
The Phillies have been decimated by injuries, and have needs at multiple positions. What do they need most at the trade deadline?
The trade deadline may be almost two months away still, but the Phillies have some pressing needs that should be addressed sooner rather than later. The injury bug has bit the Phils hard over the past month, or so as, if my math is correct, they’ve had 15 players spend time on the disabl– I mean injured list (still not used to calling it that). They’ve also had some players who haven’t lived up to expectations, or have been inconsistent in their performance. Let’s rank the Phillies trade needs in order from greatest need to least.
Bullpen Depth
The Phillies bullpen has been a strength of the team, but they’re dropping like flies. They are currently missing (deep breath): Edubray Ramos, Adam Morgan, Pat Neshek, Seranthony Dominguez, Victor Arano, David Robertson, and Tommy Hunter. For those of you scoring at home, that’s a whopping SEVEN bullpen arms out of commission.
Ramos is expected to be back in a week or so, but Robertson is expected back in mid-July, Arano may not be back until August and there’s a good chance Dominguez will need Tommy John surgery. By the time the trade deadline rolls around, there’s a good chance this bullpen will be close to full strength, but right now they’re running on fumes and minor league arms.
The Phillies missed out on Craig Kimbrel, but he would have been a great pickup. The Phils did recently add Fernando Salas, but he’s only one guy. Alex Colome and Will Smith (who is neither the actor nor the guy who walked off on the Phillies last week) are both excellent closers on bad teams and could be available for trade. Good bullpen arms are always readily available at the trade deadline, and if the Phillies decide to go that route, they should have no problem finding one.
Center Fielder
Center field has been a cursed position for the Phils this year. As is customary, Roman Quinn went down early in the season with a groin injury, Odubel Herrera was then arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend in May, and when Andrew McCutchen slid over to center to replace Herrera, he tore his ACL. Adam Haseley was then promoted from Lehigh Valley, but he too went down with an injury after less than a week with the team.
Luckily for the Phillies, they acquired Jay Bruce shortly before McCutchen got hurt, and he’s done a fantastic job taking over in left. Imagine how bad the outfield would look with him!
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Scott Kingery has been getting most of the starts in center, and he’s done an admirable job, but he’s an infielder by trade. Quinn should be activated again shortly, and he can play good defense in center, but he struggles at the plate and has an injury history longer than the Mississippi River.
Nick Williams is the only other outfielder the Phillies have available, but he struggles to defend a corner outfield spot and hasn’t been productive offensively this year.
The market for center fielders isn’t great this year. Kevin Pillar is a defensive wizard playing for a bad Giants team, but his batting average matches area code for Citizen’s Bank Park; it’s the same story for most of the available center fielders.
The Phillies are going to have a hard time finding a center fielder with any offensive upside. They may have to settle for just getting a warm body with some defensive ability.
Left-Handed Starter
If I had a dollar for every time I said the Phillies need a lefty starter, I would have been able to sign Dallas Keuchel. All five of the current Phillies starters are right-handed, and they’ve had some very mixed results on the season.
Nick Pivetta was terrible early on, but might be having a breakout season after all? Jake Arrieta has been effective at times but appears to be on the decline. Aaron Nola has been better than his numbers suggest but consistently wears down by the sixth inning.
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As for Jerad Eickhoff, he currently leads the league with 16 long balls allowed and was recently reassigned to the bullpen. Zach Eflin has been the Phillies most consistent starter, posting a 2.88 ERA with 57 punch outs and two complete games. If Pivetta continues pitching like he has the past two starts, the Phillies staff should be good enough to get by.
The fact that these guys are all right-handed could come back to bite them though. The Dodgers have a plethora of left-handed stars, the Cubs have two left-handed mashers in Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber and the Brewers have that Christian Yelich guy.
Oh yeah, and don’t forget about Phillies nemesis No. 1 Freddie Freeman. The Phillies are going to have to get these guys out if they want to do anything in October, and their current numbers against lefties (.282/.361/.521 slash line with 57 homers) don’t exactly inspire confidence.
Next. Phillies starting rotation still not settled. dark
Madison Bumgarner would be a great addition to this Phillies staff, and very well could be the difference between a trip to the NLCS, and losing the wildcard game. Mike Minor of the Rangers is another name that has popped up in Phillies trade talks. Keuchel would have been a great addition too, but Atlanta already snatched him up. At least with the starting pitching, the Phillies have internal options to turn to, even if they’re not great ones.