The Philadelphia Phillies may have had a more or less underwhelming trade deadline, with their lone acquisition, albeit a solid one, being starter Michael Lorenzen from the Detroit Tigers. But how did they do compared to the rest of their rivals in the NL East division? Are the Phillies actually better off than they appear to be, or have they squandered the chance to improve their ballclub, putting them at a distinct disadvantage going into the stretch run? Let’s take a closer look at how their competition in the NL East did in retrospect.
Washington Nationals
Among the teams in the NL East division, it was quite evident that the Washington Nationals were in sell mode prior to the trade deadline. They weren’t going to challenge the Phillies for a Wild Card spot, and they definitely weren’t dreaming about even trying for a division title.
However, to the surprise of many, the Nationals did not end up selling many big assets, other than third baseman Jeimer Candelario, who went to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for minor league prospects DJ Herz and Kevin Made. Those are definitely not names that would ring a bell as they weren’t among the Cubs’ top prospects in their system, so the Cubs appeared to be the clear winners here in nabbing Candelario to help them with their playoff hopes.
The Nationals certainly dropped the ball at the deadline, with the opportunity to restock and reload for the future, but instead fell flat and may be forced now to have a slightly longer rebuild in the coming years. At least for the Phillies’ sake, that means one less foe to worry about for now and the near future.