Six relievers Phillies could acquire by trade deadline

Six relievers the Phillies should consider acquiring by the August 31 trade deadline

The 2020 season, albeit shortened to 60 games, is well underway. Next Monday will mark one month since the slate began, and the Monday after that will represent the trade deadline. With both an expanded postseason and most teams seemingly in contention, finding a team willing to sell might be hard to come by for general manager Matt Klentak and the rest of the Philadelphia Phillies front office.

Even the 8-9 Phillies are tied with the San Diego Padres for the second National League Wild Card spot. Manager Joe Girardi‘s squad got off to a slow start to the season, but their three-game series sweep of their division-rival New York Mets helped turn things in a positive direction heading into their off-day and subsequent two-game road set opposite the Boston Red Sox at the historic Fenway Park.

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While almost all teams are still hanging around in postseason contention, there do appear to be a select few that have fallen off the wayside. Consider the Red Sox (6-16) — who have lost seven straight games — the Pittsburgh Pirates (4-14), losers of 8 of their last 10, as well as former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler‘s San Francisco Giants (8-15).

All three teams sit in last place in their respective divisions. Therefore, there may be some players — bullpen relievers, in particular — that the Phillies can acquire to help them qualify for the postseason for the first time since their disappointing 2011 National League Division Series defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals.

The following are six relievers, two each from the Red Sox, Pirates, and Giants, that the Phillies should consider to acquire ahead of the August 31 trade deadline.

Matt Barnes, Boston Red Sox

Right-handed reliever Matt Barnes, 32, was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round, 19th overall, in the 2011 MLB draft out of the University of Connecticut.

Of the seven year veteran’s 309 career appearances, 307 of them have come out of the bullpen, and 62 of those were to finish the game for the popular American League East team.

Barnes’ best season to date, ERA-wise, was 2018 — 3.65 across 62 appearances and 61 2/3 innings. That same year, the Red Sox won the World Series championship opposite the Los Angeles Dodgers. During that Fall Classic series, Barnes made three appearances and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out four of his 10 batters faced.

Through 11 career postseason appearances overall, Barnes has an 0.87 ERA, allowing just two runs (one earned) spanning 10 1/3 innings.

So far this season, the right-hander has struggled some, posting a 6.75 ERA spanning eight appearances and eight innings; however, five of his six earned runs came against a potent New York Yankees lineup in which the Phillies bullpen recently saw and similarly struggled against.

This past January, the Red Sox and Barnes avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.1 million contract in his second year of arbitration eligibility. If the Phillies acquire and choose to re-sign him for the 2021 season, he should be able to be retained on an affordable and valuable deal, considering his experience at baseball’s biggest stage.

The Red Sox use Barnes primarily in the eighth inning, which would be valuable for the Phillies as a backup option for fellow right-handed veteran Tommy Hunter (0-1, 6.00 ERA).

Trevor Gott, San Francisco Giants

Right-handed reliever Trevor Gott serves as the San Francisco Giants closer. He started out the season as among the best of the game, allowing just one combined run spanning six appearances and as many innings.

Gott’s two most recent outings against the 16-6 Oakland Athletics — who lead the American League West by 4 1/2 games — were a different story, however; in just one combined inning, the Lexington, Kentucky, native yielded nine runs (all earned), five hits, two walks and four home runs en route to an 81.00 ERA and .556/.667/2.000 opposite slash line.

If the Phillies wanted to acquire the former Gatorade Kentucky High School Player of the Year, his value is most likely at its lowest considering his recent struggles.

Gott, 27, was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the sixth round of the 2013 draft out of the University of Kentucky. In July 2014, he was dealt, along with fellow (former) closer Huston Street, to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Spanning 48 appearances as a rookie with the Angels in 2015, Gott posted a 3.02 ERA, allowing only two home runs in 47 2/3 innings.

Gott has also appeared with the Washington Nationals (2016-18), before joining the Giants at the start of the 2019 season, when he posted an impressive 7-0 record.

Gott appears to be healthy, too, which would be a positive sign for manager Joe Girardi for the home stretch of the shortened 2020 slate. Last September, Gott dealt with dealt with a sprained UCL in his right elbow and later underwent successful surgery on his left groin. But, he entered spring training to what he called “100 percent healthy.”

Keone Kela, Pittsburgh Pirates

Right-handed reliever Keone Kela was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 12th round of the 2012 amateur draft out of Everett Community College (Everett, Washington). Debuting in April 2015 with the Rangers, Kela would soon be teammates with 2008 Phillies World Series Most Valuable Player Cole Hamels upon the July 2015 blockbuster trade.

Spanning 68 relief appearances (11 of which finished a game) for the Rangers in 2015, Kela posted a 7-5 record, 2.39 ERA, and 1.160 WHIP, while striking out 68 batters across 60 1/3 frames.

The Los Angeles, California, native, overall, would post a 19-10 record, 3.45 ERA, 208-66 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.143 WHIP as a Ranger spanning 180 appearances through the July 2018 trade deadline. Then, the Rangers dealt the right-hander to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Kela finished 2018 by posting a 2.93 ERA in 16 appearances with the Pirates. His 24 saves that season ranked as the 10th-most in the American League. In 2019, he recorded a 2.12 ERA in 32 appearances.

The 2020 season for Kela has featured just one appearance so far due to him being placed and recently activated from the COVID-19 injured list. The right-hander missed the first three weeks of the shortened 60-game season after being diagnosed with the virus before summer camp began. He has returned to health since, and made his debut on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds, allowing a solo home run Tucker Barnhart.

Kela is signed through the 2020 season on a one-year, $3.725 million pact.

Brandon Workman, Boston Red Sox

Right-handed reliever Brandon Workman has pitched in all of his six seasons in a Boston Red Sox uniform since his 2013 debut.

The Phillies drafted the Arlington, Texas, native in the third round of the 2007 draft out of Bowie High School, however he did not sign. Three years later, the Red Sox drafted Workman in the second round out of the University of Texas at Austin.

Workman’s decision paid off tremendously, as 13 years later after being drafted by the Phillies, he can call himself a two-time World Series champion. During the 2013 Fall Classic against the St. Louis Cardinals, teammates with former Phillies champion Shane Victorino, Workman tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

The right-hander was left off of the 2018 Red Sox World Series roster opposite the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he recorded a 13.50 ERA in that year’s NLDS against the New York Yankees, and an 108.00 ERA in the NLCS against the Houston Astros.

Since, Workman has notched 19 saves as the Red Sox clover, going 10-1. Overall in his career during the regular season, Workman has gone 24-16 with a 3.76 ERA spanning 194 appearance, 18 of which started a game during his first two seasons in a Red Sox uniform (2013-14).

Workman earned the American League Reliever of the Month honors last September, a season in which he overall appeared in the fourth-most games in the league (73).

So far in 2020, Workman has allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings; none scored via a home run. His three saves rank as the 10th-most in the American League, while his five games finished rank as the ninth-most.