Phillies make pair of last-minute trade deadline deals in drastic bullpen shakeup

With just minutes to go before the official end of the MLB trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies made a pair of moves to shake up the bullpen.

The team added some bullpen help, acquiring left-handed reliever Tanner Banks from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for second base prospect William Bergolla Jr. Moments later, the team dealt reliever Gregory Soto to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitching prospects Seth Johnson and Moises Chace.

Phillies trade Gregory Soto, bring in Tanner Banks in last-minute trade deadline deals in drastic bullpen shakeup

Banks, 32, has spent the last three seasons with the White Sox and has a career 3.89 ERA in 162 innings of work. His best overall season came in his rookie year in 2022 when he pitched 53 innings and gave up just 18 runs en route to a 2-0 record and a 3.06 ERA. With the departure of Gregory Soto, Banks will slide into the back end of the bullpen as another left-handed reliever alongside José Alvarado.

So far in 2024, Banks has a 2-2 record with a 4.13 ERA in 41 games (a career high). Banks has caused headaches for left-handed hitters this year, as they are hitting just .184 with 28 strikeouts in 83 at-bats. On the other hand, he has struggled against right-handed hitters as he has given up 33 hits in 24 innings of work for an average of .308. 

Banks will provide the team with much-needed financial flexibility as he is under team control until the 2028 season. This will give the Phillies the option to extend him or send him to arbitration if he pitches well enough to inject himself into the team’s future plans.

Phillies deal No. 11 prospect Bergolla

Bergolla, 19, spent the last three seasons in the Phillies organization, posting an impressive .292 average in 497 at-bats. Bergolla spent time with the Single-A Clearwater Threshers and High-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws and was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the team’s No. 11 prospect heading into Tuesday’s deadline.

In the latter move with the Orioles, the Phillies acquired a pair of right-handed pitching prospects who have played well so far in 2024. Johnson, 25, posted an impressive 2.63 ERA in 18 games with the Double-A Bowie Baysox. His play has picked up significantly since the start of June as he has allowed just seven runs in 33 1/3 innings across nine starts.

Chace, 21, pitched out of the rotation and bullpen this season with the High-A Aberdeen Ironbirds, where he compiled a 2-2 record and a 3.46 ERA in 17 games. His biggest strength has been his ability to shut hitters down as he has 76 strikeouts in just 52 innings.

Soto, 29, departs the Phillies after spending the last two years with the team after being acquired from the Detroit Tigers ahead of the 2023 season. Faced with high expectations after two consecutive All-Star seasons with Detroit, Soto was never able to find his footing in Philadelphia as he pitched to a 5-8 record with a 4.42 ERA across 95 innings.

While these moves aren't the splashy deals that some fans were expecting, they are the type of low-risk, high-reward acquisitions that could have a significant impact on the team’s pitching depth in both the major and minor leagues. Banks will be relied on immediately to match up against lefties out of the bullpen, while both Johnson and Chace will have the chance to develop into players who can pitch themselves into a future role with the club in the years to come.