Phillies: Three Blockbuster Trades They Can Make
Where will the Phillies turn to make a blockbuster trade this offseason?
The Philadelphia Phillies’ spending this offseason appears to be coming to a close. Almost all the big free agent names are off the board, and the rest of the “bargain signings” have been getting snapped up left and right.
However, despite the Phils’ apparent fear of spending too much, the general vibe is that they would in fact go over the luxury tax for a superstar. With that in mind, here are three very possible blockbuster trades the Phillies could pull off.
Kris Bryant
This one is a no-brainer. Ever since Kris Bryant began his legal dispute with the Chicago Cubs over his time of service, trade rumors have been swirling. Throw in the fact that the Cubs appear to be more committed to shortstop Javier Baez long term, the future for Bryant is almost definitely not in a Cubs uniform.
Bryant has two really, really strong connections to the city of Philadelphia. First, one of his childhood friends is literally the face of the franchise. Yes, Bryce Harper and Bryant are best buds. They’ve known each other since grade school and regularly hang out together during the offseason. Harper no doubt gets a say in if the Phillies are adding a superstar talent, and he most positively would be pulling for Bryant in this scenario.
Second, Bryant’s agent is the infamous Scott Boras. While Boras normally draws groans from fans around the country, Boras and Philadelphia are on relatively good terms. Phillies’ owner John Middleton is a personal friend of the agent and they of course collaborated together on inking the Harper deal. A deal that made Boras a ton of money last offseason.
Bryant will be a free agent in either 2021 or 2022. Boras should be salivating at the idea of having another one of his major clients playing for the Phillies.
Above all else, Bryant is simply a really good baseball player. In just five years of major league play he’s been named to three All-Star games, won Rookie of the Year (2015), and won MVP (2017). Bryant can hit for average and for power simultaneously, posting a career batting average of .284 and a career slugging percentage of .516. His top of the league batting ability would slot in perfectly at the Phils’ cleanup spot, right behind his pal Harper.
Nolan Arenado
Outside of Kris Bryant’s notable connections to Philly, the Phillies in general have a glaring hole when it comes to the third base position. Longtime starter Maikel Franco left this offseason, late season fill in Brad Miller remains a free agent, and the Phils’ front office hasn’t been linked to any serious replacements. As of right now, super utility man Scott Kingery appears to be the plug in when it comes to the hot corner.
In the recent weeks, trade rumors have begun picking up serious traction when it comes to Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies. This is due to an “opt out clause” in his contract which is primed to hit following the 2021 season. When Arenado signed his $260 million dollar extension last offseason, he made it clear to the Colorado front office that he would be exercising said opt out clause if the Rockies weren’t serious contenders. After a sub-.500 season in 2019, it appears Arenado’s time in a Rockies uniform are limited.
Arenado is an appealing situation due to his price not necessarily being as high as it should be. Despite being widely held as one of the best third basemen in all of baseball (if not THE best), Arenado’s public desire to be on a contender is lowering his trade value. The Rockies have little leverage when it comes to making trade demands.
Arenado has won seven straight Golden Gloves, four career Silver Sluggers, been selected to five consecutive All-Star games, received MVP votes in his last five seasons, and has won three straight Platinum Gloves.
Outside of arguably being the best defensive third baseman in all of baseball, Arenado also possesses one of the best “bats” in the business. Over the last five seasons Nolan has averaged 124 RBIs and 40 HRs per year. His career .295 batting average also consistently ranks towards the top of the league among 3B.
Mike Clevinger
The Phillies rotation is far from perfect. In fact, it’s far from even being adequate. Just this past week I wrote an article comparing Nick Pivetta and Vince Velasquez of all people as likely back end starters. Even with the addition of Zack Wheeler, the Phillies are currently heading into 2020 with an average starter ERA of 4.30. That’s not good.
Enter right-hander Mike Clevinger. Despite the Cleveland Indians already trading two of their best pitchers away in the last 6 months, it’s been widely reported that they are in fact fielding offers for their current 29 year old ace. Coming off a year in which he went 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA, he is without a doubt one of the top pitchers on the market.
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If the Indians are in fact listening to offers for Clevinger, this is a deal the Phillies should be in on. It’s no secret that the Phillies have struggled with their starters recently, in fact in 2019 they actually ranked as having the 5th worst starting rotation in the National League (in terms of ERA).
Wheeler is a great starting point in rebuilding the Philadelphia pitching staff, but if the Phillies seriously want to contend in 2020, they’ll most likely need at least one more legit starter.
As the title states, these are what one calls “blockbuster trades”. They will not be cheap. In all three of the proposed deals mentioned, the Phillies #1 prospect Alec Bohm will have to be a part of the trade package. Middleton will have to be willing to go over the luxury tax and guys like Kingery and/or Adam Haseley may be shipped out as well. However, one more “blue chip” player might just be what the Phillies need to push them over the edge into October.