Could the Phillies go one-stop shopping in Tampa for bullpen help?

Despite owning the best record in Major League Baseball after the first 100 games of the 2024 season, the Philadelphia Phillies are on the lookout to improve their roster at the upcoming MLB trade deadline. There has been a good deal of focus on procuring a bat, specifically an outfielder, but the call has grown louder in recent weeks for some bullpen help, as well.

Luckily for Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies, there seems to be no shortage of options out there, if they are willing to pay the necessary price. And one club who appears to be in "sell mode" might be just the place to look.

Could the Phillies go one-stop shopping in Tampa for bullpen help?

Over at The Athletic, Tim Britton and Aaron Gleeman have created a Trade Deadline Big Board (subscription required), taking a look at the top 50 players who have a realistic chance of being moved in the coming days. They feature 11 relief pitchers on their list, which includes quality veteran arms such as Paul Sewald and Kyle Finnegan, as well as hot-shot Mason Miller, who would bring a hefty return for any team that decides to go for it.

Nested nicely in the middle of the list, however, we find a pair of Tampa Bay Rays relievers in Jason Adam and Pete Fairbanks. Interestingly, the Phillies (along with the Orioles and Astros) are pegged as "potential landing spots" for both pitchers. It begs the question of whether or not an interested club could swing a deal for both of them in one fell swoop.

While it wouldn't necessarily qualify as a blockbuster move on the Phillies' part, bringing in a pair of proven, quality relievers could be just as impactful as swinging a deal for an everyday player. With growing concern about José Alvarado's struggles and ugly performances from the "non-core" bullpen pieces, like we saw from Yunior Marte on Monday night in Minnesota, it's apparent that the Phillies can never have too much help on the back end. If the club is to succeed in the playoffs, the bullpen has to be solid, because it will presumably need to absorb a ton of innings.

As far as money goes, Adam is on an arbitration deal that awarded him $2.7 million for this season, and he has two more arbitration-eligible years to go. It remains to be seen if this is viewed as a positive or negative by interested clubs, as the possibility of team control for multiple years may lead to Tampa asking for a higher price. It all depends on whether or not the Phillies or any other team views him as a short-term piece or someone to keep around.

Fairbanks' status is more clearly defined, as he is under contract for 2025 and then has a $7 million team option for 2026 with a $1 million buyout. On the surface, Fairbanks seems like the more likely of the two to be moved, as the cry-poor Rays have never met a salary commitment they didn't try to extricate themselves from.

In terms of performance, Adam has been the better of the two this year, but both he and Fairbanks seem like excellent seventh/eighth inning options for the Phillies, who could pair the big right-handers in tandem with incumbent lefties Alvarado and Matt Strahm to get through those innings as a bridge to Jeff Hoffman in the ninth.

Adam and Fairbanks have both dealt with health issues in recent years, and they aren't young either, at ages 32 and 30, respectively. This could be a calculated move for this year only, but it may be worth any risk.

This all leads to the elephant in the room: the return package. The Phillies are obviously not in a position to surrender any roster players unless the Rays are keen on asking for Johan Rojas in any kind of deal, leaving the prospect pool as the only source for the Phillies to draw from.

Top hitting prospects Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford are likely off the table in this kind of deal, but it would be very interesting to see if the Phillies would be willing to part with Andrew Painter or Mick Abel, along with Starlyn Caba or another of their intriguing but very raw position players. Perhaps Carlos De La Cruz could get a look, as well.

Draft capital shouldn't be an issue, either, as the Phillies would likely be fine with including a pick or two to sweeten the deal if the Rays need any nudging.

In the end, this deal has "go for it now" written all over it, which should be the goal at this point. And it seems like it can be done without mortgaging too much of the future, as the emergence of Cristopher Sánchez this season as a rotation fixture likely makes the Phillies more willing to part with a young arm than they would have been even a few months ago.

It's probably a seller's market at this year's deadline, so the Phillies may have to compete with other clubs to match the best possible package for Fairbanks, Adam, or anyone they target. Absent a trade for a big name that the Phillies can control for several seasons, a package deal like this to shore up the bullpen would seem like the best kind of move to make for a club in "all or nothing" mode like the Phillies are.