3 perfect Phillies trade targets for the starting rotation, 2 to avoid
Three of the perfect fits on the trade market for the Phillies and two other solutions that are less than ideal.
If there’s a single reason to pinpoint why there isn’t a World Series Championship banner for the 2022 Philadelphia Phillies hanging at Citizens Bank Ballpark, the starting pitching is the reason. The Phillies had plenty of options in last year’s postseason but quantity doesn’t beat quality.
The Phillies couldn’t trust anyone other than Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. This season feels a bit different with Taijuan Walker pitching well and Ranger Suarez doing the same. Even so, it’s that fifth spot in the rotation where the Phillies feel weak. Can Cristopher Sanchez actually be trusted?
More so, the Phillies haven’t gotten an ace performance from any of their starters. The Nola and Wheeler duo have been inconsistent throughout the year. Aiming big, the Phillies should be in the market to add one of these perfect starting pitchers to the rotation while avoiding these other two “fits” who are less than ideal.
Perfect Phillies trade target candidate: Lucas Giolito
Regarded as one of the best trade pieces available this summer, Lucas Giolito is on the verge of turning 29 and destined to land with a contender. The longtime Chicago White Sox pitcher has been everything from a Cy Young contender, finishing sixth in 2019, to a much lesser pitcher.
Sandwiched between a 6.13 ERA season in 2018 and his 4.90 ERA performance last year are three very good campaigns from Giolito from 2019-2021. He’s kind of like Nola in this way. He’s a box of chocolates type of pitcher. Year to year, you’re not quite sure what you’re going to get.
This season has been one of the good ones for Giolito. Call it a “caramel filled” season instead of one of those rancid coconut pieces of chocolate. At 6-5 with a 3.50 ERA through 18 starts, he is one of the league’s most attractive trade chips. If there was any reason to stay away from him it’s that the White Sox will get a lot of offers for this rental. The Phillies will need to meet what could turn out to be a ridiculous asking price.
Why Lucas Giolito is a perfect fit: He doesn’t have to be “the guy” but he also has the ability to be “the guy” for the team down the stretch. Giolito is on the same tier as Nola and Wheeler who have ace material but are better off with equal or better pitchers around them.
Perfect Phillies trade target candidate: Jordan Montgomery
Lefty Jordan Montgomery is no stranger to trade deadline deals. Sent from the New York Yankees to the St. Louis Cardinals last summer, he’s one of those ideal fits for what the Phillies need in their rotation to finalize it. Let Sanchez become a depth piece for the ball club. They’re going to need him for that role. Get a real big league starter with a proven track record like Montgomery for the stretch run.
Montgomery has, somewhat quietly, put together a terrific season for the down-and-out St. Louis Cardinals. Now 6-7 with a 3.23 ERA through 18 starts, he did leave his most recent outing on Friday with an apparent leg injury. It’s something to monitor but not yet something to completely negate him from the Phillies’ trade deadline wish list.
Adding the left-handed punch of Montgomery to the rotation alongside Suarez makes the Philadelphia rotation even just a little harder to face. Suarez’s injury history and lack of experience could also make him vulnerable to an implosion. Having a second trusted lefty in the rotation for the remainder of the regular season has its benefits. Come playoff time, Rob Thomson can manage the bullpen differently and have one of them available out of the bullpen behind a righty starter to completely throw off any manager who dares to stack lefties in the lineup.
The Cardinals will be one of the bigger sellers at this year’s deadline and impending free agent Montgomery is someone they definitely have to move. The Phillies should pounce.
Why Jordan Montgomery is a perfect fit: Although his playoff experience isn’t extensive, pitching for the Yankees and succeeding shows he can handle the spotlight. For whatever it’s worth, he does have a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings in the postseason including 2.2 shutout frames against the Phillies in relief last year.
Perfect Phillies trade target candidate: Blake Snell
It’s not a requirement for the Phillies to pick up another lefty for the rotation, but it would certainly be nice. Blake Snell is another one of those guys to keep an eye on. Unexpectedly a potential trade chip due to the lack of success from the San Diego Padres, he’s another pending free agent who could be swapping uniforms by August 1.
Snell has been another guy having a terrific year on a disappointingly bad team. He took care of the New York Mets in his final start before the All-Star Break. Now 6-7 with a 2.85 ERA on the season through 18 starts, Snell's trade value continues to go up while the Padres remain in “chase your tail” mode. They have yet to confirm they’ll buy or sell at the trade deadline. For the sake of the Phillies, your new favorite team is whoever faces the Padres for the rest of July.
What makes Snell stand out is just how much he has pitched in the playoffs. There are no nationally televised jitters for him. He made his first playoff appearance in 2019 with the Tampa Bay Rays. He has been back multiple times since and helped defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Phillies in last year’s playoffs. The Phillies did score against him 4 times in 5 innings but it was Snell who took the victory.
Why Blake Snell is a perfect fit: You have to love the playoff experience. Nola and Wheeler got their first ever taste of it in 2022. As much as we feel we may be able to trust Walker at this point, his lone playoff appearance came way back in 2017 when he lasted an inning and allowed 4 earned runs.
Phillies trade candidate to avoid: Marcus Stroman
Avoid Marcus Stroman? This has to be a joke. A noted groundball pitcher and one of the most excellent starters of the first half, the Phillies have already been linked as a potential landing spot for him. Stroman is 9-6 with a 2.96 ERA for the Chicago Cubs this year in 19 starts. He has had a couple of rough starts recently but that’s not why the Phillies should avoid him.
Stroman is a different kind of pitcher and person. There hasn’t been a tweet with his name in it he has failed to react to.
On the field, there is little doubt Stroman can provide the Phillies with an improved rotation. It’s the behind the scenes and effect on the locker room chemistry we should be concerned about.
Stroman isn’t shy about bashing the New York Mets organization which might endear him to Phillies fans but what’s to stop him from doing the same in Philadelphia? Wheeler has done the same, after all. Neither seemed all that happy during their time in New York.
With Stroman, it’s more about the inability to keep things to himself. His extension talks with the Cubs have been an unneeded distraction for them this year. They’ve been surprisingly alive in the NL Wild Card race but unable to get over the hump.
Stroman makes the Phillies better, but that lurking danger of adding an already unhappy player to the locker room is something to avoid. Plus, with how the Cubs managed to swipe Ben Brown away from the Phillies so they could rent David Robertson last year, maybe it’s better we stop handing them prospects on the rise.
Phillies trade candidate to avoid: Jack Flaherty
A Cardinals teammate of Montgomery, Jack Flaherty is a much less attractive trade target for the Phillies. He’s younger and hasn’t allowed a run in either of his last two outings. That’s pretty much where the pros stop because prior to his recent success Flaherty was getting hammered much more regularly.
Now 6-5 with a 4.27 ERA on the season, Flaherty has already walked 48 batters and hit 8 more. He’s well on his way toward leading the league in these categories which don’t together tell the Phillies to avoid him. It’s everything else.
Despite the okay ERA at the moment, this is a pitcher with a 1.56 WHIP. He’s averaging more than a hit per inning and is at 4.7 walks per 9 this year. Flaherty isn’t even a particularly high strikeout pitcher. Batters will make contact against him and the questionable Phillies defense is going to have more chances to make errors.
Flaherty is fine if the Phillies just need a fifth starter. They should reach higher. They haven’t gotten enough out of their other starters to justify acquiring a lesser arm.
Yet another one of the pitchers who would be a rental for Philadelphia, this guy doesn’t seem like he’d put the Phillies over the top. He has been a tough luck loser in the playoffs, somehow managing to go 1-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 4 career starts in the playoffs. More than the missing rabbit’s foot in October is the average season he’s in the middle of right now and the low ceiling to get better which should have the Phillies turning elsewhere for an upgrade.
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