After the Philadelphia Phillies finished their sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, the MLB landscape shifted. The Boston Red Sox shipped off Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a rare June blockbuster trade. The organization had become disgruntled with the superstar after he continually refused to change positions to help the team. Still, a deal seemed unlikely, especially after Devers was handed a 10-year extension to become the face of the franchise.
Despite the Red Sox sitting just outside of a Wild Card spot after completing a sweep of their own, the Devers trade could signify the Red Sox may be sellers at this year's trade deadline. If that's the case, the Philadelphia Phillies should be calling Boston about a handful of their players, including this underrated bench bat.
Phillies should look into trading for Rob Refsnyder following the Rafael Devers trade
The Red Sox and Phillies appear to be a solid match for a deadline trade this summer. Though it was never very likely, the Phillies were thrown out there as a potential destination for Devers in the offseason. Other possible trade targets include All-Star outfielder Jarren Duran and veteran closer Aroldis Chapman. One name they have not been connected to is utility man Rob Refsnyder.
The 34-year-old Refsnyder has found a home with the Red Sox after seeing brief MLB action between five other organizations. This year, the veteran is slashing .307/.400/.533, all on pace to be career-highs, with four home runs, five doubles and 12 RBIs in 90 plate appearances. After being signed as a minor league free agent ahead of the 2022 season, he has seen by far his most playing time come with Boston, where he has a .281/.371/.439 slash line across the past four seasons.
Refsnyder has experience at seven different positions in his career, with him playing mostly right field for the Red Sox in 2025. He last saw infield action at first base with the Texas Rangers in 2020, though he has 227 innings of experience at the position. That could come in handy for the Phillies to have an experienced righty bat to back up Bryce Harper, given his health issues.
Refsnyder could also platoon with Max Kepler in left field and would be a suitable replacement for the struggling Weston Wilson. The right-handed hitter hits left-handed pitching well, with a .314 batting average and a .903 OPS versus southpaws in 491 plate appearances since 2021. This season, Refsnyder is batting .314 with a .991 OPS, three home runs, four doubles and 10 RBIs in 64 plate appearances against lefties.
There no longer remains much of a need for the veteran Refsnyder in Boston, with the organization choosing to go in a younger direction, led by No. 1 overall prospect Roman Anthony. As a pending free agent, it wouldn't take much for the Phillies to acquire Refsnyder, and this would be another one of Dave Dombrowski's under-the-radar moves for a bench bat, similar to the Edmundo Sosa trade in 2022.