Phillies rumors: Front office to get firsthand look at Tigers pitchers
By John Town
Phillies front office personnel will join the team in Detroit this week to examine two potential trade deadline targets as they face the Tigers.
The Phillies are scouring the league looking for any help they can get for their pitching staff. They already signed Drew Smyly over the weekend, and more moves are expected to come by the end of the month.
A move that appears more likely as the deadline nears is acquiring one, if not both of Matthew Boyd and Shane Greene from the Tigers. With the team facing the Tigers in Detroit this week, it provides an opportunity to get a firsthand look at both pitchers.
Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported Monday that general manager Matt Klentak would join the team in Detroit. He will watch Boyd and possibly Greene pitch and get a better sense of what he is looking for.
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Philadelphia has already been linked to these Tigers pitchers for quite some time now. Jon Morosi of MLB.com wrote more than a month ago that he expected Philadelphia to inquire about both Boyd and Greene. Jim Bowden of CBS Sports and Athletic indicated that Philadelphia could be in the running to acquire both pitchers.
Boyd will start Tuesday night in the first of two games against Philadelphia.
Boyd’s ERA is a ghastly 6.08 in his last eight starts since June began. However, this mainly stems from an abnormal 14 home runs allowed in 47.1 innings. His 2.91 expected fielding-independent pitching, which removes home runs from the equation, and 8.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio indicate he should be having more success.
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If either game in the series is close, Klentak and company will also get to see Greene, Detroit’s closer, pitch as well. His numbers have been strong all year long with a 1.25 ERA, 0.861 WHIP, 3.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 22 saves in 25 opportunities. His strong performance earned him his first All-Star appearance, which is sure to increase his trade value.
The key to any deal with the Tigers will be how much Philadelphia is willing to give up for either player. Salisbury wrote that the price would be quite high for Boyd given the three years he is under team control and the high demand for starting pitchers this year:
"One baseball executive familiar with the Tigers’ thinking said the club was looking for four young players for Boyd — “two with star potential and two more with a chance.”"
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Salisbury stated that the Tigers would likely ask for some combination of prospects Adonis Medina, Spencer Howard, Francisco Morales, Alec Bohm, Mickey Moniak, and Adam Haseley. It will be hard to pry them away, so it will depend on just how desperate Klentak gets before the trade deadline arrives.