That Balls Outta Here
FanSided

Phillies: Most impactful deadline deals of the decade

By George Stockburger

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 6: (L-R) Cole Hamels # 35, Cliff Lee #33, Roy Oswalt #44 and Roy Halladay #34 of the Philadelphia Phillies watch from the dugout during the Phillies game against the New York Mets in the third inning on April 6, 2011 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 10-7. (Photo by Miles Kennedy/Philadelphia Phillies/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 6: (L-R) Cole Hamels # 35, Cliff Lee #33, Roy Oswalt #44 and Roy Halladay #34 of the Philadelphia Phillies watch from the dugout during the Phillies game against the New York Mets in the third inning on April 6, 2011 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 10-7. (Photo by Miles Kennedy/Philadelphia Phillies/Getty Images) /
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PHOENIX, AZ – JUNE 23: Howie Kendrick
PHOENIX, AZ – JUNE 23: Howie Kendrick /

Howie Kendrick came to the Phillies in November 2016 for Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney. Ruf was a minor league hero who hit monster home runs, but never turned into the big league slugger everyone wanted him to be. Sweeney went back to the Dodgers after having come over to Philadelphia in the Utley trade.

Kendrick’s role on the 2017 club was to be a leader who could provide some offense. He was known as a guy who could consistently hit in the .290’s for Los Angeles prior to the trade, and the Phillies would certainly welcome that given how poor their offense was the season before.

Starting in left field Kendrick came out of the gate on fire for Philadelphia, hitting .333 in his first 10 games. An injury would knock him out for about six weeks in late April and nearly all of May. He’d hit a remarkable .360, nearly all singles, in the month of June, making him a prime trade candidate.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 09: Washington Nationals Infield Howie Kendrick (47) hits a home run during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies on April 9, 2019 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 09: Washington Nationals Infield Howie Kendrick (47) hits a home run during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies on April 9, 2019 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Unfortunately, another injury took him out for nearly all of July and severely diminished his trade value. After playing just six games in the month of July and 39 total for the Phillies, Kendrick was traded to the Nationals for pitcher McKenzie Mills.

Unranked in the Nationals farm system, Mills was having a terrific season in Single-A before the trade, going 12-2 with a 3.01 ERA and 118 strikeouts. He’d be ranked among the Phillies top-30 prospects going into the 2018 season, but he’d spend only a couple of months with the club.

Matt Klentak would flip Mills to Miami for power-hitter Justin Bour in an August move to boost the bench. Unfortunately, Bour would be hurt and hit only one home run in his lackluster Phillies career.

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