The Phillies would be foolish to stand idle ahead of tomorrow’s MLB Trade Deadline

The Philadelphia Phillies, much like the majority of good baseball teams across the league, are playing bad baseball right and the annual question of how Dave Dombrowski and John Middleton will address the team’s needs ahead of tomorrow’s 6 pm trade deadline are top of mind.

Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer

There are very little sports on television outside of Major League Baseball and this year, the 2024 Olympics, and the MLB Trade Deadline is just over 24 hours away.

The Philadelphia Phillies are laboring through the end of July. They are 3-7 over their last 10 games and have lost four straight series to the Athletics, Pirates, Twins, and Guardians. They have lost 8-of-12 games since they swept the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 9-11

Somehow, that hasn’t really hurt them in the standings.

They still hold the best record in Major League Baseball leading the Cleveland Guardians by two games and the Orioles and Dodgers by three. In the National League East, the Phillies are holding onto a 8.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves – who are 4-6 over their last 10 games. 

Outside of the Dodgers, Brewers, and Padres any team that you could consider a “contender” has struggled during the ‘Dog Days’. Just look at these numbers over their last 10 games.

American League Contenders Last 10 Games: 

• Baltimore Orioles: 5-5 
• New York Yankees: 4-6 
• Boston Red Sox: 3-7 
• Cleveland Guardians: 5-5 
• Minnesota Twins: 5-5 
• Kansas City Royals: 5-5 
• Houston Astros: 5-5 
• Seattle Mariners: 4-6 

National League Contenders Last 10 Games: 

• Philadelphia Phillies: 3-7 
• Atlanta Braves: 4-6
• Milwaukee Brewers: 6-4
• St. Louis Cardinals: 4-6 
• Los Angeles Dodgers: 7-3
• San Diego Padres: 7-3

Expecting a splash by the Phillies? I have my doubts..

That being said, I have serious doubts that any “splash” fans are expecting will actually happen ahead of tomorrow’s 6pm MLB Trade Deadline.

Dave Dombrowski and John Middleton will look at this Phillies lineup and question whether or not they actually need to add any more pieces to help their baseball team win a World Series this season.

When you have a lineup that features Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, JT Realmuto and even Alec Bohm, adding another bat might not seem necessary given the talent that’s already here and taking up 6-of-9 spots in the lineup. 

They will also look at the standings I posted above and see clear as day, that the Phillies still hold the best record in Major League Baseball, leading the Cleveland Guardians by two games and the Orioles and Dodgers by three.

From there, they will check out what’s happening in the National League East, where they will see the Phillies holding onto a 8.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves – who are 4-6 over their last 10 games. 

Obviously, there’s no reason to panic about anything but that doesn’t mean Middleton, Fuld, and Dombrowski aren’t banking on their superstars to carry this lineup when it matters most in the postseason. 

I wholeheartedly disagree with this strategy

Yes, our “superstars” should be the ones carrying the weight of this baseball team and on paper, are talented enough to win a World Series.

The problem is that this foundation of players goes on cold streaks together and all it takes is one bad week in October to completely rip the heat and souls out of every Phillies fan across the world. 

Look no further than Game 6 and Game 7 of last year’s NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

The ‘Win Now’ Window is Wide Open for the Philadelphia Phillies

For a team that is currently in the midst of Year 3 in a World Series window, adding pieces like Austin Hays and even All-Star closer Carlos Estévez without addressing the offense and the lack of power from the right side of the plate could easily be viewed as organizational malpractice. 

And no, do not even mention the concern of giving up top prospects. I sound like a broken record at this point but literally no prospect is untouchable. 

If you want to consider Andrew Painter “untouchable” then I could be convinced. Outside of that, I would honestly rank Justin Crawford over Aidan Miller given their positions on the baseball diamond but regardless, I don’t consider them either to be untouchable because we are in “WIN NOW” mode here in Philadelphia. 

Would you cough up top prospects in order to win 1-2-3 World Series over the next five years? That’s the question you need to be asking yourselves over the next 48 hours because a parade down Broad Street is within reach and if the Phillies don’t address the inconsistencies that have plagued this lineup the past few years, then it’s hard to believe our superstar veterans will provide anything different when it’s all said and done. 

Will Luis Robert Jr save the Phillies? 

Of course not. Luis Robert Jr is slashing is slashing .210/.282/.440 with 12 home runs and 13 stolen bases in just 200 at-bats. He’s considered a massive risk for any team given his injury history – only appearing in 53 games this season. 

The upside is that Luis Robert Jr has three years left of team control, when healthy is an All-Star. He has the potential to win another Silver Slugger award and a Gold Glove and can provide the Phillies will a massive upgrade in power from the right side of the plate. 

Luis Robert Jr. sent that one out in a hurry! ☄️

(via @NBCSWhiteSox)pic.twitter.com/6mjZrSdszY

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 25, 2024

If you remove Luis Robert Jr from a very bad Chicago White Sox lineup and insert him into the cleanup hitter spot in the Phillies, all of the sudden he has protection surrounding him and the dumpsters of junk that pitchers currently throw his way drops dramatically. 

On top of that, while the Phillies have reportedly pulled back interest, they now have the Atlanta Braves swooping in and contacting the White Sox about Robert Jr given the fact that they lost Ronald Acuna Jr for the remainder of the season. 

While I’m not scared of the Braves, I’m definitely not in favor of another National League team, especially one in-division, coming in and taking a centerfielder that could benefit the Phillies down the stretch and into the postseason. 

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