The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the best teams in baseball as the MLB trade deadline nears. While there are plenty of popular Phillies trade targets this summer, some of them reportedly aren’t very high on the organization’s radar.
It’s no secret what Philadelphia needs. Entering MLB games today, the Phillies bullpen ranks 14th in ERA (3.89) and it’s only gotten worse since June 1 (3.96 ERA, 16th in MLB). Meanwhile, for as productive as the Phillies lineup has been, the production largely isn’t coming from outfielders.
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- Philadelphia Phillies OF stats (FanGraphs): .695 OPS (23rd in MLB), .243 batting average (16th in MLB), .302 OBP (21st in MLB).
Fortunately for the Phillies, there are plenty of options available. Whereas the trade market for starting pitching is thin compared to previous seasons, there are plenty of options for clubs seeking relief pitchers and outfielders. However, Philadelphia doesn’t seem particularly high on the top MLB trade candidates in the outfield.
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According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Phillies have absolutely zero interest in Miami Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. Furthermore, the club believes that Oakland Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker is a fit for what they need and Chicago White Sox veteran Tommy Pham is a player the Phillies are avoiding.
If Chisholm Jr, Pham and Rooker aren’t among the Phillies trade targets, the options thin out a bit after that. The Los Angeles Angels reportedly intend to keep Taylor Ward and Toronto Blue Jays’ outfielder Kevin Kiermaier wouldn’t solve any of the Phillies’ run-production issues.
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- Tanner Scott stats (ESPN): 1.30 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 46-25 K-BB ratio, 18 hits allowed in 41.2 innings
It leaves Philadelphia hoping a team like the San Francisco Giants (Michael Conforto) or the Tampa Bay Rays (Randy Arozarena) decide to become sellers. While there are certainly other outfielders available, very few are held in the same regard as Chisholm and Rooker.
However, per Nightengale, the Phillies are “keeping a close eye on Marlins’ closer Tanner Scott. The All-Star southpaw would be an option to replace closer Jose Alvarado in the 9th inning or he could simply strengthen the Phillies bullpen. However, Scott is widely viewed as the best reliever available and there’s significant competition for him right now which drives up the Marlins’ asking price.
