3 in-house options the Phillies could promote rather than make a blockbuster trade

To buy or not to buy, that is the question the Philadelphia Phillies face as the MLB trade deadline looms at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday.  

After Monday’s win against the Miami Marlins, the Phillies are back up to second in the NL East, 11 games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves and a half-game ahead of the Marlins. Philadelphia now sits a half-game clear in the second wild-card spot, trailing the San Francisco Giants but ahead of the Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers, who are tied for the final spot. 

At $242.2 million, the Phillies boast the fifth-highest payroll in the league for 2023, according to Spotrac. However, to this point, their biggest offseason signing, shortstop Trea Turner, has struggled at the plate and in the field, leaving a right-handed hole in the lineup.

Not surprisingly, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported the Phillies are in the market for a right-handed bat: 

Between the need to find a right-handed bat and the need to bolster a bullpen that has been hit by injuries to Seranthony Domínguez and José Alvarado this year, the team has needs to fill if it wants to mount a serious playoff push. 

With the Marlins, Giants, Brewers and Atlanta all being active at the trade deadline, the question becomes whether the Phillies will be able to pull off a needle-moving trade to keep pace. If not, can the team still put enough pieces together to be a legitimate contender?

And let’s not forget: For large portions of the 2023 season, the Phillies daycare — mainly Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh, all players who have made their major league debuts within the past four years — have led the way, setting the tone and pushing the team to its current 57-49 record. 

So in lieu of a blockbuster trade to bring in yet another big-name, big-contract star to a ballclub that already has a staggering payroll, let’s explore some options already in the minor league system who could join the big league club and become the next key member to help the team power its way to a postseason return. 

Griff McGarry

Right-hander Griff McGarry has spent time in Single-A Clearwater and Double-A Reading so far in the 2023 season. According to MLB.com's rankings, the 2021 fifth-round pick is the team's fourth-ranked prospect this year.

Between the two levels, he has a 3.14 ERA in 51.2 innings, allowing four home runs, issuing 31 walks and racking up 70 strikeouts across 13 starts. While the walks are concerning, Phillies fans can hope that McGarry follows the lead of Christoper Sánchez, who has only issued eight walks in 47.1 innings since he was called up to the big leagues in June, after giving up 29 walks in 49.2 innings in Triple-A earlier this year. 

In two separate outings with Reading, on June 16 and July 6, McGarry allowed six walks. In his three games since July 6, however, he has an ERA of 1.50, with six walks and 26 strikeouts in 18 innings. At times, he has been effectively wild. Overall in 2023, though, opposing batters are only hitting .171 off the right-hander, and he has only surrendered four home runs this year. 

According to MLB.com, his pitch repertoire is solid: "He’s flirted with 100 mph in the past and was up to 99 mph at the upper levels in 2022, averaging over 95 mph. It’s an elite pitch not just because of velocity, but because of his vertical approach angle as well. His mid-80s slider can be plus at times, missing a ton of bats, and he fools hitters with an upper-70s curve too."

If the 24-year-old can keep working on mastering the strike zone, he’ll be available should the Phillies find themselves in need of an additional arm in the starting rotation or another option out of the bullpen as a long-relief arm down the stretch.

Carlos De La Cruz

With Bryce Harper sometimes playing at first base and Kyle Schwarber shifting from left field to designated hitter more often, the Phillies have an opening in their outfield. Maybe. 

Since being called up on July 14, center fielder Johan Rojas has hit .348 with four RBI across 10 games heading into Monday's contest. With more consistent playing time, Rojas can make the case that he can adequately provide the reliability the Phillies need in the outfield and at the plate from the right side. 

However, if the Phillies don’t give Rojas the opportunity to prove he can handle that spot consistently, they might turn to another young batter. 

MLB.com has Rojas ranked sixth among the team’s prospects, but Carlos De La Cruz isn’t far behind at eighth. The undrafted outfielder has spent all of the 2023 season at Double-A Reading, where he’s hitting .287 with a .359 on-base percentage and a .488 slugging percentage. In 92 games, he has 18 home runs and 49 RBI. He has struck out 108 times, though, and the Philadelphia squad as a whole was already sixth in the league in strikeouts with 696 on the year heading into Monday's slate of games.

He has shown flashes of consistency, though. Earlier this season, De La Cruz had a 38-game on-base streak from May 12 to June 25. During that time, he hit .297/.380/.497 with eight home runs, seven doubles, one triple, 24 RBI, 17 walks and 41 strikeouts. Over his last 10 games, the 6 foot 8, 210-pound outfielder is hitting .293/.356/.439 with three doubles, one home run, four RBI, four walks and 11 strikeouts. 

In June, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with Tyler Henson, hitting coach for the Double-A ballclub, who talked about De La Cruz needing to adjust the timing of his swing to account for this tall frame.

Henson said: “Early on in the year, we battled with getting him on time for the heater. He was driving breaking balls that were hung in the zone. But he’s gotten to a better spot where he’s getting better swings off on good velo heaters in the zone. That’s the main focus, keep him on time, allow that big frame to get to the barrel, and good things happen.”

While the trade market is burning with rumors about the Phillies bringing in an established major league player, with some more patience demonstrated at the plate, De La Cruz could bring his right-handed power bat to the lineup.