Even before the Adolis Garcia injury, the outfield was a huge need for the Philadelphia Phillies. Dave Dombroski greatly miscalculated Otto Kemp's viability as an outfielder, leaving the roster with a serious weak point.
Additionally, while Garcia had begun to heat up before the lat tear that landed him on the 60-day IL, that came immediately on the heels of a brutal 3-for-57, 30-strikeout stretch that made him hard to rely upon, too.
So, one way or another, an outfield addition was going to be necessary, and if said addition could hit right-handed, it would be a major boost. The vast majority of the Phillies firepower, from Bryce Harper to Kyle Schwarber to Brandon Marsh and others, all hit left-handed, making the lineup extremely susceptible to southpaws.
Which options Philadelphia could target have been unclear, but MLB insider Jim Bowden dropped a few names that he thinks the Phillies will pursue in his latest mailbag column for The Athletic (subscription required).
"I’m being told by GMs that the Phillies’ front office is on the prowl for an impact outfielder. I think Buxton would be an excellent trade target if he waives his no-trade clause. I also think Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu of the Red Sox would be strong fits," the former MLB general manager wrote.
Bowden can be prone to some out-of-left-field ideas, but in this case, there's logic to support the trio of Buxton, Duran, and Abreu as potential targets.
Byron Buxton would be Phillies' dream target, but Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu are more likely
Dating back to last season, Buxton has been on an incredible power surge. The 32-year-old center fielder hit 35 homers and slugged .551 over 126 games last season. This year, he's slashing .275/.336/.601 with 23 dingers through just 63 games.
The two-time All-Star fits the "impact" description and checks the right-handed power box. He also comes with a very reasonable contract that pays him $15.14 million per year through 2028.
There are two downsides to Buxton. Last year's 126 games played were the most action he's logged since his 140 contests back in 2017. In fact, 2024 was the only time he surpassed the 100-game threshold since 2017. The other big hurdle is that Buxton has a full no-trade clause.
Buxton has been adamant that he'll veto any deal, though he did express some frustration that the Twins did not extend the same loyalty and flatly declare that they have no intention of trading the oft-injured superstar. With that said, there were some offseason rumblings suggesting he'd reconsider that stance if Minnesota's sell-off continued. That would lead one to believe any Buxton-related deal wouldn't become official until the eleventh hour.
As for Duran and Abreu, there's little surprise here. The pair have long been rumored to be dealt as the Red Sox have a glut of outfielders, and now it seems even more likely that one or both will find new homes as Boston's season continues to go off the rails.
Duran is the one with the lower price tag thanks to his proximity to free agency, but he's been very inconsistent, posting a .481 OPS in the season's first month, followed by an .879 mark in May, which unfortunately gave way to a .549 OPS thus far in June. He's also the worse defender of the pair and, as a left-handed hitter, doesn't quite fit what Philadelphia needs
Abreu fits better into the "impact outfielder" tier thanks to his two career Gold Gloves and more consistent offensive performance. That, plus the fact that he doesn't hit arbitration until next offseason, will make him more expensive to acquire. The other benefit he brings is a reverse split, posting a .919 OPS against lefties versus a .702 mark against righties. That mitigates the downside of adding another left-handed-hitter to the lineup.
If we were to come up with a power ranking for Bowden's suggestions, Buxton would be the dream, Abreu would be an intriguing add, and Duran would be the last resort.
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