The Philadelphia Phillies have the World Series on their mind. They don’t want to attend again. They want to win it all this time.
The front office brilliantly navigated through last year’s trade deadline and added several key pieces to the roster. Two of their best moves brought them controllable assets Brandon Marsh and Edmundo Sosa. Their continued presence on the 2023 roster is paying off even more so.
While we can dream big about other players with years of control left, it might not be quite as reasonable as players closer to free agency. The Phillies need pitching and even a bit more balance at the plate and in the field. With several teams already falling behind, these five trade targets would be some of the best for Philadelphia to acquire.
1) Phillies trade target: Alex Cobb from the Giants
Mötley Crüe sang about “Girls, Girls, Girls” and Phillies fans should be singing for “Arms, Arms, Arms.” You don’t need to have read in the Soho Tribune that a lack of starting pitching was one of the biggest causes for why they didn’t raise a World Series banner recently.
This is where Alex Cobb can come into the picture. The Phillies got a close-up look at the San Francisco Giants starter this week. Considering where the Giants are in the standings and the impending slip further down the standings, Cobb and any of the other potentially available starting pitchers on this roster should be big targets for Philadelphia.
Cobb has a team option for next year that would make sense to pick up as long as he performs well. Now in his 12th big league season, Cobb is a pitcher past his prime yet maybe good enough for what the Phillies need to improve their starting rotation. Health would be the big question with him. Prior to his 149.2 innings last year with the Giants, we have to go back to 2018 for his most recent 100+ inning campaign.
Teammates Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood should also remain on the radar for the Phillies. Take your pick. As poorly as Cobb pitched against the Phillies on Tuesday, he'd be a massive upgrade over Bailey Falter. He does still lead the league in ERA. The Giants haven't quite faded in the playoff race, but to believe they'll be any better than about .500 is too optimistic.