At 53-47, the Philadelphia Phillies are 12 games out of first place in the NL East division, but seem to be destined for a Wild Card spot before all is said and done. As a matter of fact, FanGraphs' Playoff Odds currently have the club at 62.1 percent, so things are looking solid right now, even if a division title grows more unlikely by the day.
While the Phillies have had their fair share of issues this season, things have still gone alright for the club. The pitching staff has been up and down, but things have looked great for both the starting rotation and bullpen as of late, so the pitching corps appear to be turning things around at just the right time. Where things become a bit more murky is on offense, where the club has had difficulties manufacturing runs all year long.
Entering the day, the Phillies rank 21st (out of 30) in the majors in home runs with just 109. For context, the Braves are already at 187. The club is 16th in runs scored, 8th in strikeout percentage, 24th in walk percentage and 20th in wRC+. See where the most obvious area(s) to upgrade are at this year's trade deadline?
The Phillies are linked to Mets outfielder Tommy Pham as trade deadline nears
According to some rumblings around the league, including one from USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Phillies "would love" to acquire outfielder Tommy Pham from the division rival New York Mets. With the recently reported interest in adding a right-handed bat for the Phillies, this fit just makes way too much sense.
Of course, trades between division rivals don't happen often, but that doesn't mean it's totally impossible to see such a thing go down. After all, the underachieving Mets are 46-53 and are currently playing some terrible ball. With the club seemingly interested in moving a multitude of players like Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Pham, Mark Canha and José Quintana, should the Phillies make a phone call on Pham? Absolutely they should.
A 10-year veteran at the big league level, Pham has made it into 75 contests for the Mets this season and has been a red-hot hitter at the dish. So far, he has nine home runs, 35 RBI, a .271 average, .827 OPS and his highest OPS+ (129) since 2018. He has also found his wheels on the bases, swiping 11 already; the most he's had since 2021.
Pham is a well-respected veteran of the game who can play either outfield corner better than the Schwarber-Castellanos combo, and he fits the mold of right-handed power hitter that the Phillies are said to be targeting. Again, inter-division trades aren't common, but this is one that could absolutely come together for the two clubs.