The Philadelphia Phillies entered the offseason with an obvious need for an additional starter after Taijuan Walker and a long list of candidates failed to deliver consistent results in the fifth spot of the rotation last season. All signs pointed to the Phillies upgrading the rotation via trade, and after coming up short in trade discussions with the Chicago White Sox for Garrett Crochet and the Seattle Mariners for Logan Gilbert, the Phillies finally got what they were looking for when they acquired left-hander Jesús Luzardo and minor league catcher Paul McIntosh from the Miami Marlins for the team's No. 4 prospect Staryln Caba and Single-A outfielder Emaarion Boyd in late December.
The deal for Luzardo could be the biggest move the Phillies make this winter, unless the team makes a serious run at free agent signing third baseman Alex Bregman or pivots to sign one of the many top-tier relief arms still available. If that's a wrap on the Phillies making impact moves this offseason, the team will head into spring training hoping that this winter's value shopping is enough to get the Phillies back on track to make a longer run in the postseason this year.
All trades large and small come at a cost, and dealing for Luzardo came at the expense of losing dynamic shortstop prospect Starlyn Caba. While Caba was far away from being an MLB contributor, the Phillies had to give up something to get something, and the Phillies felt more comfortable dealing the 19-year-old and holding on to top prospects like infielder Aiden Miller, outfielder Justin Crawford, and right-handed pitcher Andrew Painter.
Former first-round pick rejoins Phillies’ top 5 prospects thanks to Jesús Luzardo
Following the trade, the Phillies' farm system rankings were once again reshuffled as publications and assorted baseball media, such as Bleacher Report, reacted to the latest subtraction from the Phillies' minor league system. Last year, the Phillies decided to cash in on some of the team's prospect surplus, with former top 10 prospects such as George Klassen, Sam Aldegheri and William Bergolla all being dealt at the MLB trade deadline.
The subtraction of Caba in the Luzardo trade recently reshaped MLB Pipeline's top 10 Phillies prospect rankings, with right-handed pitcher Mick Abel moving up a spot to return to top-five prospect status in the updated rankings of the Phillies farm system.
Abel's struggles at Triple-A Lehigh Valley last season aside, the former 2020 first-round draft pick is still young at age 23. The Phillies believe that Abel will eventually solve the control issues that contributed to a disappointing record of 3-12 and a 6.46 ERA last season.
Mick Abel recorded a season-high 9 strikeouts in only 4 innings this past Wednesday 👏
— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) September 16, 2024
Presented by: @PALottery pic.twitter.com/flRVdGa6Uw
All signs point to Abel starting the 2025 season at Triple-A again this season, and members of the Phillies player development team will seek to help Abel improve upon his 2024 walk ratio (6.9) and WHIP (1.813) while keeping opposing hitters in competitive counts so that his upper-90s four-seam fastball can generate swing and miss. Far from a lost cause, Abel is still very much in the Phillies' future plans, and a solid showing early next season with Lehigh Valley could be enough to see Abel make his MLB debut at some point next summer.