Are the Phillies looking to trade for an outfielder, and if so, who?
In the midst of a very quiet stretch of the offseason the Phillies rumor mill has been thrown into high speed thanks to a tweet from one of baseball’s best insiders.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweeted Thursday morning that the Phillies are looking for a right-handed center fielder to potentially platoon with 2018 first round pick Adam Haseley.
General manager Matt Klentak has essentially proclaimed Haseley as the opening day center fielder after the 2018 first round pick filled in admirably on the fly last season.
After Odubel Herrera‘s suspension and a batch of injuries, Haseley came up and hit .266 with five home runs and a .324 on-base percentage. He made several outstanding plays in the outfield, including a coy grab over the center field wall.
Since coming out of the University of Virginia the book on Haseley is that he’ll always hit, but will he have enough power to stick in a big league outfield?
The news doesn’t bode well for Herrera or the oft-injured switch-hitter Roman Quinn, who played just 44 games last year with a .213 batting average.
The Phillies have a limited amount of salary space before they hit the luxury tax, sitting with about $5 million left according to Spotrac. They’ll likely be looking for either a young outfielder who doesn’t make a ton of money and doesn’t have a permanent home with his current big league team.
There could also be someone whose deal is expiring after 2020, allowing the Phillies to shed salary after next season.
Here’s a look at some trade candidates the Phillies might be exploring to boost their outfield for next season and potentially beyond.
Honorable Mentions: Leury García, Kiké Hernández