Phillies MLB Trade Deadline

Jeff Passan names 3 players the Phillies can target ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline and a quick reminder that no prospect is untouchable

Before you know it, the MLB Trade Deadline will arrive and the Philadelphia Phillies have the perfect opportunity to solidify their roster to become World Series favorites.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan released his trade deadline predictions earlier this week and believes that the Phillies will be “buyers” and “all over the outfielder market” next month – which is obviously fantastic news for anyone who has been following this team over the first few months of the 2024 MLB season.

The Phillies could definitely use an upgrade in the outfield. Their near-perfect roster, while dominant, has failed to produce offense from their 3-4 outfielders and that’s saying something when talking about this ball club who has jumped out to a dominant 42-19 record so far this season.

Who did Jeff Passan target for the Phillies? Glad you asked. We’ll take a look below of course, but before we do I want to be very clear on a few things when considering making a “splash” at the MLB Trade Deadline.

No Phillies Prospect Is Untouchable.

We have to all be on board that literally no prospect in the Phillies’ minor league system is untouchable.

Trust me, I understand that Andrew Painter, Mick Abel, Justin Crawford, and Aidan Miller are all considered incredible talents and have big league potential but at the same time, we’re looking at the Phillies – arguably the best team in Major League Baseball this season while smack-dab in the middle of year 3 in their current “window” to win the World Series.

Window results so far? World Series loss and a loss in the NLCS.

This season, the Phillies are 44-19 and hold a 7.5 game lead in the NL East standings. They have one of the best lineups in all of baseball and an absolutely dominant pitching staff from the rotation to the bullpen. 

3 Headed Monsters: Looking at the Phillies Top 3 rotation pitchers from 2011 and 2024

Take a moment and ask yourself is mortgaging the future by trading away prospects that could flame out at any moment is worth sacrificing what could be the final pieces of building a World Series winning roster this season. 

The answer is obviously World Series or bust. We’ll worry about prospects later. 

Passan states that the Phillies could target left fielder Randy Arozarena of the Tampa Bay Rays, centerfielder Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox, and most notably of the three, right fielder Kyle Tucker of the Houston Asterisks…sorry, Astros. 

Randy Arozarena – LF – Tampa Bay Rays

Arozarena is most definitely having a down year in Tampa up to this point. The 2020 ALCS MVP is hitting .166 this season, with eight home runs and 19 RBI. He also has an OPS of .590, and has swiped seven bags.

This could be an option that comes at a cheap cost, given the fact that the Rays are just
31-31 on the season and 13 games back in a strong American League East division. 

Arozarena has had a pretty solid career, putting up a total of 498 hits, a .254 batting average, 79 homers and a .779 OPS.

Who knows? Maybe Randy just needs a quick change of scenery to get back to his old hitting ways? It’s a move I would definitely consider at the right price tag but definitely the least intriguing one that Passan mentioned in his article.

Luis Robert Jr. – CF – Chicago White Sox

BINGO.

We haven’t seen much of Luis Robert Jr this season since he’s missed a ton of time with a hip flexor straight that he suffered back on April 5th. He just returned to the White Sox lineup on June 4th. In his first game back, he went 2-for-4 with a home run – so early signs indicate that he could return to 2023 form, when he was a Gold Glove outfielder along with a Silver Slugger.

Last year, Robert logged a career-high 145 games, finishing the season with 38 home runs, 80 RBI, 20 stolen bases, an .857 OPS and a 5.0 rWAR. In the entire MLB, only Julio Rodriguez was better in center last season. 

At only 26-years old, Robert carries a career .279 batting average with 77 home runs, 215 RBI, and an OPS of .828. 

The Phillies have enough ammo in their farm system to get Luis Robert from the Chicago White Sox. He’s arguably a Top 3 centerfielder in Major League Baseball and will head to Philly with 3.5 years of team control. 

That’s a no-brainer if the Phillies want to go “all-in” and send a significant package to Chicago.

Kyle Tucker

The last name mentioned, Tucker, is definitely intriguing as well but I’m still not convinced that the Houston Astros will part ways with their star outfielder.

Tucker is hitting .266 this season with 19 homers, 40 RBI, 10 stolen bags, and a .979 OPS. Tucker has had a strong career with Houston through this point, and it is unclear if they would be willing move someone who has been a pivotal player in their recent success. 

Each player has at least one more season on their contact, with Tucker becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2026, Arozarena in 2027, and Robert in 2028. 

Okay, so what happens to the current outfield for the Philadelphia Phillies?

Brandon Marsh is currently on the Injured List with a strained hamstring. When he was healthy, Marsh was batting .265 with a .770 OPS – notching six home runs and 26 RBI on the season. 

In center, Johan Rojas is batting just .234 with two home runs and 19 RBI. Whit Merrifield is batting just .171 with a miserable .517 OPS – notching just two home runs and 4 RBI on the season. Cristian Pache is batting .200 with eight RBI in just 55 at-bats. 

Outside of that, you have Nick Castellanos – who went through one of his typical cold spells before finally returning to form over the past few weeks. 

Over his last seven games, Castellanos has two home runs, 6 RBI, and nine hits in 27 at-bats. More importantly he’s only struck out a total of 2 times. Casty will be fine but the point remains – there needs to be more offensive production at in the outfield for the Phillies and any of the players above could provide a much needed improvement.

So really, I agree with Passan in saying that the only real “in-house” option for the Phillies would be to move Edmundo Sosa to the outfield once Trea Turner returns from the injured list. Sosa is batting .294 with a .896 OPS. He has four home runs and 16 RBI in 102 at-bats this season.

The answer is Luis Robert Jr – the length of his contract giving the Phillies team control for the future while also dealing with a White Sox franchise that is in complete disarray could be the perfect recipe to go out and get a bonafide stud in centerfield.

You’ll have to part ways with Justin Crawford and maybe Mick Abel along with a package of other prospects but again, no prospect is untouchable and if you can add a major league talent to an already dominant ball club, you take it every day of the week.

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Kevin M. Cox of AP Photo

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