The Philadelphia Phillies have already been subject to numerous trade rumors this year and it's only the beginning of June. Expect the next few months to be a whirlwind as the veteran-laden team goes all-in on what will likely be their only year with Don Mattingly as manager.
Here's what we know: The Phillies are in desperate need of help in the outfield, and their priority will be on adding right-handed bats. They could obviously knock out two birds with one stone, but it's not unreasonable to think that they could bring in multiple position players around the trade deadline, particularly if they have their sights set on upgrading one of the league's worst bench units.
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller clearly expects them to go the latter route, suggesting that Dave Dombrowski should acquire multiple outfielders this summer on a best-player-available basis.
That group could include superstars like Mike Trout or Byron Buxton, not to mention one of the Boston Red Sox's many capable outfielders. But if the Phillies are truly willing to acquire anyone who could upgrade their lineup, then perhaps it's time to reunite with old friend Mickey Moniak.
Mickey Moniak is finally really good, but he may not be a perfect fit for Phillies at trade deadline
Moniak is currently on the injured list with an ankle sprain, so he'd need to prove healthy before any trade talks progress to the serious stage. Still, he was a world-beater with the Colorado Rockies earlier this year, hitting .280/.335/.607 (145 wRC+) with 12 home runs in just 43 games.
Unbelievably, he's been responsible for four multi-homer efforts already, one of which came against the Phillies back in early April. The usual Rockies caveats apply — his OPS is 300 points lower on the road — but he's still been an above-average hitter (115 wRC+) when operating away from Coors Field.
The real issue with Moniak, now 28 years old and under contract via arbitration through 2027, is that he doesn't solve the Phillies' most glaring problem: hitting southpaws. Moniak has obliterated right-handers this year, owning a ridiculous 1.014 OPS with the platoon advantage. That falls all the way to .626 against lefties, which fails to mention is ghastly .179 batting average in such situations.
Reuniting with the former first overall pick four years after dumping him for Noah Syndergaard would be quite a redemption story. He'd also be a significant upgrade on defense, capable of playing in any of the three outfield spots when healthy.
But to do so, the team would have to eschew other players who are better fits for this roster. That may be a difficult pill to swallow for a team in such a narrow window of contention.
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