7 missed opportunities for the Phillies at the 2024 MLB trade deadline
Could, and should, the Phillies have done even better at the trade deadline?
The Philadelphia Phillies did quite well with their additions at the trade deadline to address their main needs. They upgraded the outfield with Austin Hays. They added to the bullpen by acquiring Tanner Banks and Carlos Estévez, getting rid of the inconsistent Gregory Soto in the process.
They look better on paper now than they did just over a week ago.
However, could the Phillies have done more to ensure that they're World Series favorites, instead of just being strong contenders?
With starter Ranger Suárez struggling before landing on the IL, the uncertainty around Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull, and Tyler Phillips's inexperience, perhaps adding a rotation arm would have been a wise insurance move. Also, acquiring a marquee player who would have guaranteed to be a huge difference-maker for the club would have been the cherry on top.
7 missed opportunities for the Phillies at the 2024 MLB trade deadline
What opportunities did the Phillies miss at the trade deadline that might have made them unbeatable? Hopefully, they won’t regret missing out on potential trades that could have played key roles in their upcoming playoff run.
The Phillies let Jack Flaherty go to their main roadblock to the World Series
For starting pitchers, at a tier below the Garrett Crochet's of the trade market, the Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty would have been available to the Phillies. Flaherty has been putting together his best season since 2019 when he was still with the St. Louis Cardinals. In 18 starts for the Tigers, Flaherty went 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 133 strikeouts in 106 2/3 innings.
Sure, he comes with some injury risk, as he encountered back issues this season. But when healthy, Flaherty is one of the best in the business. In the end, the National League rival Los Angeles Dodgers nabbed him for two prospects, catcher Thayron Liranzo and infielder Trey Sweeney.
Potentially, that would be about the equivalent of the Phillies giving up rising prospect Eduardo Tait and either José Rodríguez or Robert Moore. Would it be worth it for added rotation insurance? Perhaps, especially after seeing Flaherty's impressive Dodgers debut.
The Phillies missed out on Erick Fedde
Although Crochet didn’t end up with a new home post-deadline, his Chicago White Sox teammate Erick Fedde did, as part of a three-team trade that landed him in St. Louis. Fedde had been one of the few bright spots on a struggling White Sox team this season, posting a 7-4 record with a 3.11 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 108 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings prior to the trade.
With other pieces involved in the three-team trade transaction, including reliever Michael Kopech and outfielder Tommy Pham being moved by the White Sox as well, the White Sox somehow managed to only end up with one top-10 prospect in Miguel Vargas along with two developmental ones in return. This showed that Fedde could have been had by the Phillies at a very minimal price had they chosen to pursue the 31-year-old.
The Phillies should have taken a flier on Paul Blackburn
Paul Blackburn may not be a name that teams would quickly jump on for bolstering a rotation. Nevertheless, he would have been a decent under-the-radar target that the Phillies should have considered at the deadline. Having spent his entire career with the Oakland Athletics prior to the trade deadline, Blackburn could always be counted upon to provide solid innings while maintaining an ERA close to 4.00.
As an ideal back end of the rotation piece, he would have provided valuable starting pitching depth if Walker, Turnbull or Phillips were to fail to solidify the No. 5 spot down the stretch. The fact that the New York Mets only had to give up the No. 25 prospect in their system, right-handed pitcher Kade Morris, to get Blackburn, shows how easily the Phillies could have made that move without hurting their prospect capital.
This missed opportunity, despite seemingly a minor move on the surface, could have potentially paid big dividends for Philadelphia. Now, they have to hope that the starting depth they already have will work out.
The Phillies could have had Tanner Scott but dropped the ball
We have learned that the Phillies were in hot pursuit of the Miami Marlins' Tanner Scott, the best closer available at the deadline. This was in spite of the fact that they had already reeled in Estévez.
The Athletic's Jayson Stark revealed on 97.5 The Fanatic's The Best Show Ever that on deadline day, the Phillies were in on Scott right down to the wire, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dan Roche — even though they didn’t necessarily have to do that. But with Dombrowski’s vision that stars help win championships, nothing is ever out of the question.
Scott has been among the best closers this season, converting 90 percent of his save opportunities with a sparkling 1.18 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 53 strikeouts in just 45 2/3 innings.
Scott ended up with the San Diego Padres, but it came at a hefty cost in terms of prospect capital. Maybe the Phillies will find out that they dodged a bullet in the end if Scott doesn’t turn out to be as lights-out as expected. Nevertheless, the fact that they almost had him just makes one wonder.
The Phillies missed out on power-hitting Jorge Soler
When the Phillies landed Hays from the Orioles, many thought it was a decent acquisition. After all, with the ability to provide 20+ home runs and 70+ RBI in an average season while playing solid outfield defense, what wasn’t there to like?
But watching the Atlanta Braves land slugger Jorge Soler from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline may make the Phillies think twice about what could have been. The former All-Star has been one of the more prolific power hitters in the league in the past few seasons, averaging close to 30 home runs and 80 RBI per year.
Soler has ample playoff experience, with 28 postseason games under his belt. Most notably, he helped fuel the Braves to win it all in 2021. During his playoff career, he has batted a solid .274 with an impressive 1.021 OPS with 11 runs scored, six doubles, six home runs and 11 RBI.
Soler may not be as defensively as strong as Hays, but his bat would have more than made up for it. With the Braves only giving up struggling reliever Tyler Matzek and non-top 30 prospect Sabin Ceballos, perhaps the Phillies should have been in on Soler since it feels like the Braves practically got him for free, aside from paying his contract.
The Phillies bypassed prime playoff performer Tommy Pham
With the Phillies aiming for World Series or bust this season, should they have gone after a true difference-maker for when the games matter most? If so, perhaps they should have pursued a veteran outfielder Tommy Pham.
Pham profiles similarly to Hays in that he also averages about 20 home runs and 70 RBI per season throughout his 11-year MLB career. But what he brings that Hays doesn’t have is pure speed on the basepaths and a wealth of playoff experience. Even at age 35 last season, Pham managed to go 22-for-25 in steals, while blazing around the bases with 27 doubles and three triples in 129 games.
More importantly, he has been a proven playoff performer after reaching the postseason on four different occasions with four different teams. In 31 playoff games, Pham has a .313 batting average and an .846 OPS, with 15 runs scored, five doubles, six home runs, 10 RBI and six stolen bases. He helped the Arizona Diamondbacks to the World Series last season.
Since joining the Cardinals at the deadline, in just five games with his new team, he's batting an astounding .471 with a 1.382 OPS with four runs scored, one home run and seven RBI. With an immediate impact like that, perhaps Pham was the potential difference-maker the Phillies needed to help get the team back on track.
The Phillies missed out on stud pitcher Garrett Crochet
Although Garrett Crochet ultimately wasn’t moved at the trade deadline, he was actually one of the most coveted starters over the past couple of months. It turns out that the Phillies were actually aggressively pursuing the 25-year-old starter.
According to Stark and his sources, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski chased Crochet all the way to the deadline, per Roche.
With Dombrowski known to go after the best of the best, Crochet has definitely been one of them this season. Over 22 starts so far in 2024, Crochet has compiled a stellar 3.23 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, while leading the AL with a 2.43 FIP and a strikeout rate of 12.6 batters per nine innings en route to the first-ever All-Star appearance of his career.
There’s no doubt that the cost to obtain his services would have been high. It would have likely required multiple top-10 prospects to get a deal done while heading into obvious overpay territory. But the unique opportunity to add a potential ace starter with three more years of control to an already potent Phillies starting rotation would have been worth the huge gamble.
In the end, the Phillies could have had the best starting five in all of baseball, but that is now not to be.
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