Matt Higgins
Due to poor roster construction in the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies are dealing with the same dilemma they had at last year’s trade deadline — the need for a high-leverage reliever and right-handed outfield bat. The Phillies acquired reliever Carlos Estevez and outfielder Austin Hays at the 2024 deadline, but both left in free agency. With the signings of reliever Jordan Romano and outfielder Max Kepler going poorly, the Phillies will most likely now be dealing their top prospects to go all-in.
During an appearance on the “Foul Territory” podcast, The Athletic’s Jayson Stark predicts that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is going to do something “huge” at the July 31 trade deadline.
“He has this sense about his team that with the right move or moves they can win the World Series,” said Stark. “That everybody else is beatable — their team too — but they have that team that nobody wants to play because of their pitching.
“I ran into a guy in Atlanta who has talked to Dave and he said he thinks Dave is geared up to do something huge. He’s got his prospect chips ready to go.”
"He's got his prospect chips ready to go."@JaysonSt says he's heard from someone that Dave Dombrowski might be geared up to do something big at the trade deadline. 👀 pic.twitter.com/BD5glJckaT
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 18, 2025
Those include five top-100 prospects:
- Infielder Aidan Miller (No. 2 Phillies prospect, 21st overall)
- Outfielder Justin Crawford (No. 3 Phillies prospect, 47th overall)
- Catcher Eduardo Tait (No. 4 Phillies prospect, 61st overall)
- Pitcher Mick Abel (No. 5 Phillies prospect, 85th overall)
- Infielder Aroon Escobar (No. 6 Phillies prospect, 95th overall)
Pitcher Andrew Painter remains off limits and is expected to make his MLB debut at some point this summer.
With Dombrowski ready to unload the farm, he will be looking to get a controllable bat and arm — not just rentals.
“That’s what I think Dave would do in an ideal world, give up a ton of prospects for a big bat, a huge arm and two guys he can control beyond this year,” Stark said, adding that the Phillies would love to get both All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton and closer Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins, but that won’t be happening.
Several elite relievers might be available at the deadline: Cleveland Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase, Pittsburgh Pirates’ David Bednar and Dennis Santana, Baltimore Orioles’ Felix Bautista and Boston Red Sox’s Aroldis Chapman. However, the market for right-handed outfield bats is extremely thin, with Los Angeles Angels’ Taylor Ward potentially being the best option available.
If the Phillies are unable to procure an outfield bat, their best option would be to go internally and bring up Crawford, who is hitting .331 in 73 Triple-A games with an .839 OPS. The issue with Crawford, though, is he has little power (two home runs) and doesn’t put the ball in the air.
The Phillies need to make big moves because their rotation with Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Jesus Luzardo and Aaron Nola — currently on the IL and expected back in August — can carry them to the World Series. They just need their offense and bullpen to contribute their fair share to get them to the end line.
