Phillies could have surprise high-octane closer in their trade deadline sights

The Philadelphia Phillies have multiple roster needs they will aim to upgrade by the MLB trade deadline at the end of July. Acquiring an outfielder and another reliever ranks among the primary needs of their position groups.

Will the Phillies trade for a reliever who isn't primarily a closer or a bullpen pitcher who has been used often in the ninth inning? A reliever's age and current contract situation will determine how many top prospects they need to trade from their farm system.

Here is a surprise closer the Phillies may have in their trade deadline sights.

Phillies could have surprise high-octane closer Camilo Doval in their trade deadline sights

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, if the San Francisco Giants decide to sell, multiple teams will express an interest in acquiring closer Camilo Doval, who averages 100 mph with his cutter and 98 mph with his sinker.

The Dominican native got off to an excellent start with a 1.80 ERA and converted all five of his saves in 10 appearances in April. He finished with a 2.25 ERA and saved four out of five games in 12 May contests.

However, he has endured struggles over the last two months. Doval allowed eight earned runs over two of his 11 games in June. The two bad outings contributed to the closer finishing with a whopping 8.10 ERA for the month. His season ERA was 2.78 at the end of May but rose to 4.41 a month later.

Doval has done better in July, with two earned runs allowed in five games. However, Giants manager Bob Melvin could consider other options for the role of the club closer moving forward. One of the Giants' radio commentators, Mike Krukow, recently expressed his frustrations with the reliever on KNBR's Murph & Markus morning radio show in San Francisco.

"I'm p***ed off. I'm p***ed off. That 2-0 lead and that walk... He's better than this. Especially when you had the 1-2 count. That's unforgivable for a closer," Krukow said. "So where do we go from here? I don't know. I really don't know. I don't know if he's the guy coming out of the break. If you're Bob Melvin, you might even consider that this is something where he needs to go [to the minors], work on a few things. Kind of a head slap, calm down, find out what is important in certain situations."

The closer made the NL All-Star team for the first time in 2023 and finished with 39 saves in 47 opportunities, a 2.93 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 69 games. However, he doesn't appear to be on track to repeat his overall performance this year.

Trade proposal sends two top 15 prospects to Giants for Camilo Doval

Fansided's Zach Presnell proposed a trade between the Giants and Phillies involving the struggling closer. In the deal, Philadelphia would receive Doval in exchange for their No. 12 prospect, outfielder Carlos De La Cruz, and pitcher Christian McGowan, their No. 15 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

Presnell wrote that Philadelphia would have to trade two of their top 15 prospects because Doval has multiple years of arbitration remaining after 2024. The closer won't be a free agent until 2028.

If the Phillies don't make any blockbuster deals involving trading away some of their top five-ranked prospects, young players ranked within their top 15 or lower, such as De La Cruz and McGowan, may be dealt.

De La Cruz recently received a promotion to Triple-A with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. In 65 games with the Reading Fightin Phils in Double-A this year, he had a slash line of .262/.341/.427 with a .768 OPS. He also had 13 doubles and 35 RBI. In six contests with Lehigh Valley, he's hitting .269/.259/.385 with a .644 OPS. McGowan has dealt with injuries and is on a rehab assignment with the Rookie-level FCL Phillies.

The Phillies may decide to acquire a closer, such as the Oakland Athletics' Mason Miller, if the team even makes him available via trade. Dealing for the young closer will require Philly to trade multiple top young players. One of their top three prospects, pitcher Andrew Painter, shortstop Aidan Miller, or outfielder Justin Crawford, would likely be involved as a focal point of the deal. The franchise could look to trade for closer Tanner Scott of the Miami Marlins, which would not be nearly as costly to their farm system as he will be a free agent in 2025.

If Philadelphia doesn't acquire either one of those relievers from struggling franchises, they could consider trading for Doval. The deal will give him a fresh start with a World Series contender in which he would be used in a closer-by-committee approach that manager Rob Thomson prefers to implement.