The Phillies are once again betting on a random assortment of veterans to fix the holes on their roster, because it went so well last year.
With the Phillies teetering on playoff contention at the trade deadline, they faced a tough decision. They weren’t close enough to a playoff spot to warrant going all-in, but also weren’t so far out they could sell off spare parts. This left the team in limbo when it came to making deals, so general manager Matt Klentak tried to find a middle ground.
The most impactful acquisitions made at the deadline were outfielder Corey Dickerson and starter Jason Vargas. Other miscellaneous moves including signing starter Drew Smyly and reliever Blake Parker and trading for relievers Mike Morin and Dan Straily.
Since the deadline, the club has also called up Logan Morrison from Triple-A, signed catcher Nick Hundley and reliever Nick Vincent to minor-league deals, and most recently claimed reliever Jared Hughes off waivers Thursday.
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If none of these moves move the needle for you, you’re not alone. On top of that, it brings back memories of the exact same type of moves the Phillies made last year as they lost hold of their playoff spot.
In the weeks preceding and following the 2018 trade deadline, Philadelphia acquired Asdrubal Cabrera, Aaron Loup, Wilson Ramos, Justin Bour, Luis Avilan, and Jose Bautista. Of this group, only Ramos made a significant impact on the team, and it was nowhere near enough to keep them from falling to third place and below .500 by the end of the season. All of these players were gone soon after the season ended.
Despite these marginal moves not moving the needle at all last year, Philadelphia once again finds their roster fleshed out with a random assortment of castoffs from other teams. The pitching acquisitions were needed because of the large assortment of injuries to the rotation and bullpen, but they shouldn’t be expected to suddenly turn the team around.
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With that in mind, don’t expect this random cast of characters to turn Philadelphia around out of nowhere. It will only be the players who have been here all year that can do that, but even that doesn’t seem likely at this point in the season.