4 expendable Phillies players who the team can move before the trade deadline
Which Phillies could see their time with the club come to an end by the trade deadline?
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.
Whit Merrifield
For one of the Phillies’ biggest offseason free agent signings, Whit Merrifield has turned out to be a huge disappointment thus far in his tenure with the club. After revitalizing his career with an All-Star season with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023, the Phillies fully expected more of the same from the veteran utilityman, especially now with the added motivation of playing for a legitimate contender.
However, after teasing the Phillies and their faithful with an outstanding spring training, Merrifield has fallen flat up until now. In 38 games, he has compiled a dreadful .193 batting average and .581 OPS, which are by far the worst numbers posted over his nine-year career. With just three home runs and nine RBI with more than one-third of the schedule completed already, he's on pace for less than 10 home runs and 30 RBI for the entire season.
Perhaps you may credit his miserable numbers to the fact that he hasn’t been an everyday player like he has been for most of his career. But as a proven veteran and a former league leader in hits during his prime with the Kansas City Royals, you would at least expect Merrifield to provide a reasonable level of offense.
With the emergence of the strong play of utility infielder Edmundo Sosa and the eventual return of Trea Turner in the coming days, Merrifield could find himself the odd man out in the roster shuffling and could soon see himself without much of a defined role going forward.
Gregory Soto
Much of the talk this season has been about the absolute dominance of the Phillies bullpen. The relief corps has really locked things down recently as one of the top bullpens. However, a weak link still exists among the core group, which is none other than struggling left-hander Gregory Soto.
When the Phillies first acquired Soto from the Detroit Tigers last January, they believed that they had added a key back-end piece to their bullpen puzzle in the process, joining the likes of dominant flamethrowers José Alvarado and Seranthony Domínguez. After all, Soto had been a two-time All-Star and the Tigers’ shutdown closer in the two previous seasons just prior to joining the Phillies.
However, Soto has failed to find his footing, now already almost halfway through his second season with the club. He has been an absolute disaster following a semi-strong start to the season. In 27 games, he has an abysmal 4.57 ERA and 1.85 WHIP, with just four holds while giving up 11 earned runs, 14 walks and 25 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings pitched. Despite registering just one blown save this year, Soto is no longer viewed as a reliable arm in high-leverage situations.
Taijuan Walker
It has been a whirlwind of a season for starter Taijuan Walker so far. With a new season to prove to the Phillies and their faithful what they really have in him, the veteran has unfortunately had a rocky start. After making two horrendous starts during spring training, he was sidelined for a few weeks due to a right shoulder impingement and didn’t make his season debut until the end of April.
Since his return from the IL, Walker has failed to impress for the most part. He has compiled a career-high 5.33 ERA with a 1.45 WHIP, giving up 29 earned runs and 18 walks with 40 strikeouts in 49 innings of work. He has also been hit around a lot, giving up more hits (53) than total innings pitched.
With the top four of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez all rounding into form, Walker remains the weakest link in the rotation. If the Phillies intend to upgrade their pitching by the trade deadline, Walker could be a casualty from the roster crunch.
But even without getting external help, if Walker fails to improve in the coming weeks, Spencer Turnbull could take over Walker’s job given the success Turnbull had as a starter earlier in the season. Walker's fate could be determined in the coming six weeks.
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