3 ways the Phillies can screw up the trade deadline
The Philadelphia Phillies have hit a bit of a skid of late, losing four in a row against the Brewers and Guardians respectively but are still 52-46 on the season. With them being six games over .500 the Phillies find themselves one game back of the final Wild Card spot.
The Phillies are going to be in a battle until the end for a playoff spot. For them to find a way to get ahead of the pack, they'll need to be active at the trade deadline to improve this roster's deficiencies.
The trade deadline last season saw Philadelphia be extremely active landing Brandon Marsh, Noah Syndergaard, David Robertson, and Edmundo Sosa. All four of these players had big moments down the stretch and in the postseason. With Dave Dombrowski likely to do more wheeling and dealing, here're some ways he can screw up at this year's deadline.
The Phillies can screw up the trade deadline by not trading for a starting pitcher
Starting pitching should be the number one concern for the Phillies heading into the deadline. You can argue that a rotation of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, and Taijuan Walker is good enough for the postseason, but you cannot argue that they need a fifth starter to help them get them there to begin with.
Cristopher Sanchez is not that guy. He's pitched well but is a much better fit as a potential sixth starter or long reliever than as a guy you rely on every fifth day in a postseason race. Think of him as this year's Bailey Falter.
I'm not saying the Phillies need to land someone like Blake Snell or even Shohei Ohtani to add to their rotation. It'd be great if they did, but the Phillies have a ton of talent in the front of their rotation already. What I am saying is adding a proven fifth starter is needed. Adding one who can step in and start a big postseason game for you would be great as well.
I like Cristopher Sanchez, but I don't think it's fair to him or to the Phillies to expect a guy who came into the year with a 5.47 ERA in 22 MLB appearances (four starts) to be starting massive September games. If a pitcher goes down with injury or if the Phillies need him to start a doubleheader game so be it. Don't force yourself to rely on an unproven commodity when you have the ability to upgrade a weakness.
The Phillies can screw up the trade deadline by not improving the bench
The Phillies starting lineup is one of the best in the game. One through nine they have players who can hit the ball out of the ballpark at any moment, and when they're going right, they're very hard to pitch to. The one issue position player-wise this Phillies team has is their depth is subpar at best.
On the bench on most nights, the Phillies have Edmundo Sosa who I like, Garrett Stubbs who I like, and Johan Rojas who has looked impressive in his short MLB stint. The Josh Harrison spot needs to be upgraded.
Bryce Harper returning to play the field is an awesome development. It allowed the Phillies to send the struggling Darick Hall down and gave the surging Jake Cave the chance to play against right-handed pitching. What it also did was leave the Phillies without a first baseman.
Alec Bohm can play there at times, but then that forced Edmundo Sosa in to play third base. Once the bench loses Sosa, it becomes incredibly weak. Adding a power-hitting infielder, ideally a first baseman, who can pinch hit in a big spot or give you some starts would be ideal here.
The Phillies don't need to acquire guys like Jaimer Candelario or C.J. Cron to start every day with how good their lineup already is, but they do need to add some thump off the bench.
The Phillies can screw up the trade deadline by selling low on Andrew Painter
The Phillies were dealt devastating news with Andrew Painter needing to undergo Tommy John Surgery. With the elbow injury he's dealt with it felt like he wasn't going to debut this season anyway, but the surgery knocks him out for the entire 2024 season as well.
Painter is the Phillies number one prospect and is one of, if not the best pitching prospects in baseball. His stock will certainly take a hit because of the Tommy John, but that should not be reason for the Phillies to sell low.
I understand the team is trying to win right now and in 2024, and Painter won't be contributing toward those goals at all, but still, with this kind of talent you don't just give him away.
If the Phillies can land a superstar like Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto, giving up Andrew Painter, while hard, would be easier to stomach. Doing so to land a player in a lesser tier like Lucas Giolito would be a brutal trade for the Phillies.
It's frustrating that this guy can't contribute at the MLB level until 2025 at the earliest, but the 20-year-old is simply too talented to give up on for anything less than a legit star that you're getting in return.
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