The July 31 trade deadline can't come soon enough with how troubled the Philadelphia Phillies look at times. They need help to maintain their postseason equity to avoid a late-season floundering like last year. The team is expected to be active towards the deadline, and Phillies fans are at least expecting some help in multiple areas of the roster.
The anticipation is that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will go out and do something substantial. To reassure the fan base, some serious moves need to be made to keep a World Series in their view and keep the window open just a little longer. Predictions for every team have now been released and for the Phillies, it appears that only includes one side of the roster is being addressed.
The Athletic's bold trade deadline prediction won't sit well with Phillies fans if it comes to pass
The Athletic's bold prediction for the Phillies at the deadline is that they won't trade for a hitter (subscription required), per Matt Gelb. That prediction is certainly bold, solely based on how dire the lineup looks when the top hitters aren't carrying the offense. Granted, the focus will be on the bullpen, but not addressing the offense in any way seems unjustifiable.
Phillies fans get reminded every night that outfielder Max Kepler is looking less and less like a major league bat in a postseason-hopeful lineup. After another 0-for-4 on Friday and 0-for-4 on Sunday, Kepler has now dropped to a .204 batting average and a .660 OPS that is starting to rival Bryson Stott's .635 OPS. Kepler's one-year deal was only for $10 million, but it was their sole offensive acquisition in the offseason. Kepler has also expressed concerns about his playing time more so than his offensive production.
The offense hasn't been the juggernaut we had hoped for. Heading into Sunday, they ranked 11th in runs scored (452), 16th in home runs (107), sixth in batting average (.255) and 10th in OPS (.736). It hasn't been all on the offense, but it gets harder to defend when it feels less dominant than it did even just a year ago. A right-handed power bat to plug in would be massive to give some relief to an ailing lineup. The options may be hard to find depending on the teams selling, but it truly doesn't hurt to look.
Dombrowski will be hunting for what he thinks is best for the club, and that looks like the pitching staff at this point. An eighth-worst bullpen by ERA (4.36 ERA) is not something that could have easily been predicted coming into the year and has to change. If they don't go out and get a hitter, they better bring in a lockdown relief arm to curb any doubt that this team just isn't good enough for a playoff run.