When push comes to shove, there are some glaringly obvious spots the Philadelphia Phillies will need to address at the upcoming MLB trade deadline. Unsurprisingly, it's the same old song and dance from last year, when Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was forced to make trade deadline deals for outfield and bullpen help.
With the outfield remaining a concern this season, it wouldn't be surprising to see the front office make some changes by July 31. While center fielder Brandon Marsh didn't get off to the best start this year, he has greatly improved his stock and is a candidate to be on the move as we get closer to the trade deadline.
Don’t be shocked if Brandon Marsh is off the Phillies by the MLB trade deadline
The 27-year-old Marsh certainly didn't tear it up to begin the season before landing on the injured list. He took a .095/.220/.167 slash line and an 0-for-31 slump with him to the 10-day IL on April 20. While that horrific start to his year put him on the hot seat for his underperformance, he has turned his season around and made himself a more valuable trade chip.
The Athletic's Matt Gelb recently pointed to Marsh and Max Kepler as options for the Phillies to move on from at the deadline (subscription required). While releasing Kepler seems to be the only way Dombrowski will be able to offload him and what's remaining on his $10 million deal, Marsh might garner some trade deadline interest. Gelb insists the Phillies could use Marsh to find a "better fit for their roster." That could be a right-handed bat, a bullpen piece, or even a prospect.
Moving Marsh and shuffling other outfield pieces might open a spot on the roster for the organization's No. 3 prospect, Justin Crawford, to finally get his shot.
Since his brutal April, Marsh has actually been one of the Phillies' best hitters, slashing .303/.364/.419 since May 1. He has managed to raise his season slash line to .259/.332/.365, with three home runs, 21 RBIs and 28 runs scored, with five steals to boot.
While he's hitting .268 versus right-handed pitching since the start of May, Marsh still struggles against lefties. He has a .225 batting average and 37.5 percent strikeout rate in a small sample of 48 plate appearances against southpaws. Hopefully at this point, he has shown the Phillies what they need to see to finally admit that Marsh won't ever be a full-time player.
If you recall, Marsh's first full season with the Phillies in 2023, when he slashed .277/.372/.458, was a success. However, he grossly overperformed his expected ratios, with a .234 expected batting average and .391 xSLG.
Now almost 1,900 plate appearances into his career, we know who Marsh is. He's a .257 hitter (.217 vs. lefties) who strikes out too much (31.8 percent) and is a platoon player at best. As a part-time player he does just fine, but center field is a premier position. The combination of Marsh and Johan Rojas just hasn't been getting it done.
To be fair, Marsh has lowered his strikeout rate to 24.4 percent this season (the league average is 21.9 percent). Unless he's mashing at least 20 home runs, that's too high. The Phillies can't afford the extra swing and miss in a lineup in which chasing pitches and striking out has been a primary problem during the last two postseason defeats. For a team with World Series aspirations, the long-term answer in center field isn't Marsh. It's also not Rojas — but that's another issue.