The Philadelphia Phillies have been looking for an outfielder with an impact bat this offseason to help bolster their lineup heading into 2025. With the flurry of moves made by teams in recent days, including the Phillies themselves who landed star reliever Jordan Romano, Philadelphia should keep things going to ensure that their main competitors don’t get too far ahead.
With that, another impact bat has become available, but this time on the trade market. It's already known that with the Chicago Cubs looking to clear some payroll, outfielder Cody Bellinger was already available to be moved. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Seiya Suzuki is also on the trade block along with Bellinger. Sources have indicated to Sherman that the Cubs are determined to trade at least one of the two players.
Phillies should take a serious look at trading for Cubs' Seiya Suzuki
We have previously looked at Bellinger’s potential fit with the Phillies. However, the sudden inclusion of Suzuki in trade talks opens up additional options for Philadelphia to consider.
Suzuki is coming off two consecutive 70+ runs scored, 20+ home runs and 70+ RBI seasons with the Cubs while batting above .280. More significantly, if we take a look at his Statcast advanced metrics, there's a sea of red in the bulk of the categories. Despite a high strikeout rate, his hard-hit rate and chase rate both ranked above the 90th percentile this past season. His xwOBA, average exit velocity, sweet spot rate and walk rate all ranked above the 80th percentile as well. On top of that, Suzuki’s numbers appear to be trending upward despite being already 30 years old.
With the Cubs’ recent acquisition of Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros, it has now increased the possibility of Suzuki being moved this offseason. In fact, it was even rumored that at one point in time, preliminary talks had Suzuki as part of the deal going back to the Astros in the Tucker trade, according to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal. Although Suzuki does hold a full no-trade clause, the fact that he would be going to a contender might be enticing enough to get him to waive it.
Therefore, the upside and potential prospect cost to obtain Suzuki could actually appeal to the Phillies a lot more. Since Suzuki doesn’t come with any previous accolades along with a hefty salary that they’ll need to eat, the subsequent return package in the trade should be a lot more palatable for Philadelphia and their fans.
As a result, rather than just focusing on the free agent market and potentially overspending on prime targets like Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández, the Cubs may already have a more realistic and affordable option for the Phillies to find a solution to their outfield problems.