Phillies: 4 bold predictions for the MLB trade deadline
With the trade deadline fast approaching, what does the Philadelphia Phillies end up doing to bolster their roster for the playoff chase?
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On Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies got a much needed win over the Cleveland Guardians in extra innings to halt their losing streak at four games. With the recent slide, the Phillies have fallen to 53-46 and are a half a game behind the second and third wild card spots in the National League. Nevertheless, they are still right in the thick of things and look ahead to the trade deadline to make some necessary additions. As the Phillies prepare for some intense action ahead of the deadline on August 1st, let’s take a look at some bold predictions with regards to what may transpire in the upcoming days for the ballclub.
1. The Phillies acquire highly coveted Marcus Stroman of the Chicago Cubs to bolster their starting pitching
With Chicago Cubs’ starter Marcus Stroman’s name swirling around in hot trade rumors, the Phillies manage to beat out the competition to grab the two-time All-Star. He represented the best starting pitcher available at the trade deadline not named Shohei Ohtani. For the 2023 season for the struggling Cubs team, Stroman has compiled a strong 10-7 winning record, with a 3.09 ERA, 145 ERA+, 1.14 WHIP, giving up 42 earned runs and only seven home runs, with 46 walks and 105 strikeouts over 122.1 innings of work in 21 games started.
Stroman will fit in nicely as the club’s No. 3 starter behind Aaron Nola and Zach Wheeler, and together with Taijuan Walker’s solid season so far in 2023, the Phillies appear to be set for a deep playoff run with four proven big-game starters at their disposal. With Stroman being one of the best ground-ball pitchers in all of baseball, the Phillies’ infielders will need to be on their toes to ensure they can complement him to the fullest for his stuff to be most effective. He also seems to be at his best in the biggest game moments, so he will definitely be a force for the Phillies when playoff time rolls around.
2. The Phillies nab outfielder Tommy Pham from their division rival New York Mets
With the transition of Phillies superstar Bryce Harper to first base and outfield slugger Kyle Schwarber to the DH role, the Phillies acquire veteran Tommy Pham from the New York Mets to fill the void left in left field, despite his recent groin issues. Pham has been previously mentioned as a potential trade target for the Phillies, so the speculation has come to fruition. The 10-year veteran has averaged close to 20 home runs, 65 RBI, and double-digit stolen bases in his prime years while playing steady defence in the outfield for six different ballclubs in his career.
For 2023, Pham is hitting .272 with an .831 OPS, 129 OPS+, with 28 runs scored, 15 doubles, nine home runs, 35 RBI and 11 stolen bases. With only 19 errors in total throughout his career with a .986 fielding percentage as well, Pham provides the right combination of speed, fielding and hitting for the Phillies to fill in as their everyday leftfielder, and on his days of rest, provide a strong bat and defensive replacement off the bench.
3. The Phillies upgrade their bullpen by adding Kendall Graveman from the Chicago White Sox
The Phillies try their best to reunite with their 2022 closer David Robertson, but as trade talks fall through, they turn to Kendall Graveman of the Chicago White Sox and eventually get their valuable bullpen piece. Graveman has been a dominant reliever for the past three years since his breakout season back in 2021 with the Seattle Mariners. He also played a key role in helping the Houston Astros reach the World Series that very same year, after the Mariners traded him to the Astros at the trade deadline. During that postseason, he pitched to a 1-0 record, 1.64 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, giving up only two earned runs, four walks and 11 strikeouts in nine appearances.
With that being his only taste of playoff baseball, Graveman will definitely be hungry to have the chance again at the postseason. For 2023, he has posted a 3-4 record, with a 3.56 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, with 41 strikeouts in 43 innings pitched. He will no doubt bolster the Phillies bullpen to strong contender status and help setup team closer Craig Kimbrel to close out ballgames.
4. The Phillies give up two top prospects in their organization in Mick Abel and Griff McGarry in their trade deadline deals
Good news for the Phillies is that they make significant additions to their roster in preparation for the playoff run. Bad news is that they end up overpaying a bit and lose two of their top prospects in Mick Abel and Griff McGarry to complete their trade transactions, as they had to give value to get value in return. Abel is currently ranked number two on the Phillies’ MLB Top Prospects list and McGarry comes in just slightly behind at number four.
Abel was a first round draft pick by the Phillies back in the 2020 MLB Draft and has been the Phillies second-ranked prospect in their organization for the past three years, showing the enormous potential that they expect from him. Believed to be just a slightly lower-tiered version of Andrew Painter, he was projected to form a one-two punch with Painter for the Phillies in the near future for the heart of their rotation. But with Painter potentially undergoing Tommy John surgery soon, Abel became the prime candidate in which teams were asking for as the return asset in trade talks, despite being previously categorized as untouchable by us.
In addition, McGarry was drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia. Known for his tremendous strikeout ability, McGarry has compiled a 3.41 ERA, 1.20 WHIP with a whopping 236 strikeouts in just 158.1 innings pitched in three minor league seasons in the organization. The Phillies will definitely miss his firepower, but since they are currently in win-now mode, he becomes the other valuable asset sacrificed at the trade deadline.