Sitting comfortably atop the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies have been running away with it so far this season. For the most part, with their hitting, pitching and defense functioning at their very best, the Phillies look set for the rest of the year, just focusing on getting back to the postseason to take care of some unfinished business.
But despite their success to date, the Phillies would never turn down the opportunity to strengthen the team even more with the MLB trade deadline coming up next month. As they look to make some moves to round out their roster, which current Phillies players could be expendable by the deadline?
4 expendable Phillies players who the team can move before the trade deadline
With the team already rumored to be looking for an outfield upgrade and the bullpen possibly being an area of focus, the Phillies might need to move big leaguers to get a deal or two done.
Obviously, teams like to move prospects over active players, but here are four possible players on the active roster the team might be willing to part with if it helps improve the playoff-bound Phillies.
Cristian Pache
With Cristian Pache's role as a backup outfielder, he was expected to provide some value with his reliable defense in the field and deliver some occasional offense with his bat. After all, despite an injury-plagued 2023 season, he managed to hit .238 with a .736 OPS, seven doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI in 84 at-bats.
However, Pache has provided less of an impact to date this year, batting only .206 with a dismal .571 OPS, with just seven runs scored, two doubles and eight RBI to show for in 63 at-bats. On top of that, he has already committed two errors on just 43 chances for a .953 fielding percentage despite defense being his main calling card.
As a result, he has seen his playing time diminish, with at-bats being lost to Whit Merrifield and, more recently, to journeyman David Dahl. Pache will need to get his act together and prove his worth soon enough. Otherwise, he will likely be overtaken by others in the depth chart, if it hadn’t happened already.