2 Phillies trade deadline needs they must address, 1 they can ignore

Phillies trade deadline need to ignore: First baseman

An injury to Rhys Hoskins before the season even began and one to Darick Hall after 6 games has given the Phillies a hole at first base they’ve been attempting to fill with Kody Clemens on some days and third baseman Alec Bohm on others. Is this acceptable?

Clemens hasn’t been a bad player and has recently started to hit more home runs and raise his other numbers. A more flexible defender than most first basemen, he’s earning his spot. Bohm at first base isn’t so bad either if it spares us from seeing him at the hot corner.

This isn’t to say the Phillies should completely ignore the offense. Trading for a traditional first baseman is different than adding a bat somewhere else. It wouldn’t be so bad to target a third baseman to help push Edmundo Sosa back into a utility role. The same would happen with Clemens.

We have yet to see it but the Phillies could always start Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, or Kyle Schwarber at first base. Corner outfielders aren’t available in abundance at the trade deadline so they’d probably want to test those waters first before spending young talent on one.

If all the Phillies did at this year’s trade deadline was add a number three starter, a depth piece with minor league options for the rotation, and addressed the bullpen with at least one more guy, it might be all they need. The offense is what it is. They’ll hammer you one day and take out the next. One addition at first base isn’t going to change it.

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