3 trade deadline disasters the Phillies luckily avoided by not going ‘all-in’
The Phillies could have landed these targets, which would have been a total disaster this season.
At the 2024 MLB trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies had the golden opportunity to make a huge splash to put themselves into a more favorable position to win the World Series. By pushing all the chips to the center of the table and going "all-in" on star players, they could have secured some potential huge difference-makers down the stretch.
Instead, the Phillies took the more conservative approach and essentially pursued more specific targets to fill their needs. That way, they didn't have to empty their farm system and sacrifice their future in any significant way.
Was that the right move? Seeing how some of their rumored targets are turning out now, the Phillies may have done the right thing and dodged some huge bullets as a result. Here, we will take a look at three trade deadline disasters that the Phillies luckily avoided by not going all-in.
3 trade deadline disasters the Phillies luckily avoided by not going ‘all-in’
Luis Robert Jr.
Perhaps one of the hottest targets leading up to the deadline, Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. certainly belonged on Philadelphia’s list. Not only was he a proven star power hitter with speed and defense, he would have addressed the Phillies’ main need of help in the outfield.
He's a former Rookie of the Year finalist, as well as a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner. Coming off a huge 38-homer, 80-RBI breakout season in 2023, what wasn’t there to like about the 27-year-old All-Star?
However, 2024 has by far been Robert’s worst season of his career. Batting just a paltry .199 with a .656 OPS and 83 OPS+, injury withstanding, something just doesn’t seem right with him this year.
More significantly, since the trade deadline, Robert has a disastrous .077 batting average and .180 OPS. He has only registered three hits and two RBI, along with zero walks and 17 strikeouts since not getting moved at the trade deadline. Considering that rumors predicted it would have likely required a king’s ransom of prospects to obtain his services, the Phillies sure missed out in a good way in this instance.
Lane Thomas
Another outfield target who could have met the Phillies’ needs was 28-year-old Lane Thomas from the Washington Nationals.
Capable of putting up 20+ home runs and 70+ RBI a season, Thomas would have provided a huge offensive boost to the outfield in the Phillies lineup. Not only that, he can hold his own in the field, with a lifetime .985 fielding percentage and 40 outfield assists in six big league seasons.
However, Thomas ended up going to the Cleveland Guardians, while the Phillies reeled in Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles instead.
Boy, has that turned out to be a huge break for Philadelphia. Since joining the Guardians, Thomas has been absolutely atrocious, hitting a measly .109 with a .332 OPS. He scored four runs with no home runs, no RBI and 20 strikeouts in 46 at-bats in 13 games. Things have been so bad that he no longer has a guaranteed spot in the everyday lineup, riding the bench in three of the past six games.
Considering the Guardians gave up three promising prospects in left-handed pitcher Alex Clemmey (Guardians No. 8 prospect), shortstop Rafael Ramirez Jr. (Guardians No. 22 prospect) and third baseman José Tena to get Thomas, the results have definitely been hurting them in more ways than one.
That would almost be the equivalent of the Phillies giving up a package consisting of Mick Abel, Carlos De La Cruz and one more prospect, which would have been a pretty steep price for an underperforming Thomas. For the Phillies’ sake, thanks but no thanks.
Garrett Crochet
Garrett Crochet was one of the top starting pitchers available on the market at the trade deadline. Why wouldn’t he be? After all, he had compiled a stellar 3.02 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, along with an astonishing 150 strikeouts in just 107 1/3 innings of work over 20 starts.
Although the Phillies didn’t necessarily have starting pitching as their top priority at the deadline, given the run of injuries to their starters, along with Taijuan Walker's inconsistency, getting a top-notch performer to solidify their rotation wouldn’t have been a bad idea.
However, there was one caveat in that Crochet had never logged more than 54 1/3 innings in any season prior to 2024. Having hit the 100-inning threshold already just halfway through the year, some wondered if fatigue would start settling in for the lefty and whether his effectiveness would hold up for the rest of the season.
That speculation has now been answered. In his four starts since the All-Star break, Crochet is 0-3 with an 8.78 ERA, a 2.03 WHIP and a .328 opponent batting average. He has given up 13 earned runs, including six home runs, with 17 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings. This includes his worst outing of the season in his last start against the Chicago Cubs when he couldn’t even get out of the third inning after yielding seven earned runs.
With Crochet having two more years of control following the 2024 season and his impressive first-half All-Star performance, he would have come with a high price tag. But with the Phillies believing in their internal options by staying away from Crochet, it's turning out to be a wise move in retrospect.
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