Joey Gallo is a risky trade target for the Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies rolled into the All-Star break riding high.
They swept the Miami Marlins in their last series of the first half, moving them back into a tie with the St. Louis Cardinals for the third National League Wild Card.
In other words, it’s time to buy.
With the 2022 trade deadline fast approaching, the Phillies are looking like definite buyers, and outfield help will likely be on the shopping list, along with a pitcher or two. Defense has been one of this team’s few issues this season, especially with Jean Segura and Bryce Harper both on the Injured List. As such they’re rumors to be interested in New York Yankees outfielder Joey Gallo.
But is he worth a trade?
Gallo’s career, especially of late, can be described as a microcosm of the modern MLB hitter; he’s extremely hit or miss. If there was a soundtrack to his life, it would be “All Or Nothing” by O-Town.
In today’s advanced metrics-heavy game, batting average is too broad of a stat to be taken seriously on its own, since it weighs all hits equally. That said, this is Gallo’s third consecutive season hitting under .200, and currently his worst average of any year in which he played more than 17 games. He’s hitting .096 over his last 28 days of play.
It’s not just his batting average; looking at the complete picture of Gallo’s season, he’s on pace for significantly fewer extra-base hits than last season. Whereas he doubled 13 times and hit 38 home runs across 153 games in 2021, he’s only racked up four doubles and 11 homers in 75 games this season.
The most damning metric of all is that Gallo is striking out more (38.1%) and homering (4.3%) and walking less (14%) than last year, which is saying something, considering he led MLB with 213 strikeouts in 2021. In fact, the only American League top-10 leaderboard he’s currently on is strikeouts, ranked ninth among AL batters. The Phillies already have the second-biggest strikeout man in the National League; Kyle Schwarber has struck out 120 times this year, behind only Patrick Wisdom. Rhys Hoskins also made the NL’s top-10, tied with Cody Bellinger for 10th, with the same amount of strikeouts as Gallo.
Defensively, he would be an upgrade from the current risky business the Phillies are deploying. Gallo is coming off back-to-back Gold Glove-winning seasons.
However, the best landing spot for Gallo is clearly a lower-pressure team. He was having a solid season when the Texas Rangers traded him at last year’s deadline, and all of his numbers worsened once he landed in the Bronx. Phillies fans won’t go any easier on him if he struggles here.
Gallo absolutely brings something to the table. It just doesn’t seem like the pros outweigh the cons, and at this year’s trade deadline, the Phillies can’t afford to gamble.