July 25, 2024
Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports
Could Los Angeles Angels right-handed hitters Taylor Ward and Kevin Pillar solve the Phillies' outfield problem?
The MLB trade deadline is five days away, and Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski has a fascinating challenge ahead of him. He needs to figure out how to improve what has to date been the best team in all of baseball without halting its momentum or mortgaging the future of the organization.
Recently, I wrote a story advocating that the Phillies attempt to patch as many of the holes in their roster as possible rather than adding the single most exciting talent available -- even if it means passing on a player as tantalizing as Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. or Oakland A's closer Mason Miller. One way to patch multiple holes is to fetch two or three contributors from one team.
Which teams considering selling at this year's deadline could offer the Phillies more than one player who can help them win a World Series?
Available pieces: OF Taylor Ward, OF Kevin Pillar, RP Carlos Estévez
If I were in charge of the Phillies, my priorities would be as follows: adding an everyday outfielder, bolstering the bullpen with another quality reliever and adding a platoon bat in the outfield. Trading for three major-league players in one deal is a bit of a rarity, but the Angels do have players who fit each billing.
Ward, 30, has posted about league-average offensive production in a down year this season, but over the last four seasons has accumulated a steady .256/.337/.435 slash line and has a history of making wise swing decisions. Perhaps most importantly, Ward has crushed left-handed pitching this season, slashing .333/.382/.522 against southpaws on the year. Ward could be the Phillies' everyday left fielder -- moving Brandon Marsh to center field -- and comes with two years of team control after the end of 2024.
Pillar began 2024 with the White Sox and struggled so much that the worst team in baseball let him go after 17 games. He was given a second chance in Anaheim and has made the absolute most of it, now putting himself in strong position to be moved to a contender within the next week. At age 35, Pillar's defense does not grade out as well as it used to, but he is capable of handling time in any outfield position. He has posted terrific numbers against left-handers in 2024, slashing .371/.413/.629. Pillar is unlikely to keep that pace for the remainder of the season, but he would be a significant offensive upgrade over Johan Rojas.
Estévez, 31, has posted strong numbers as the Angels' closer this year: a 2.45 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and a 6.4 K/BB ratio all illustrate his proficiency out of the bullpen. Estévez would almost certainly not be the designated closer in Philadelphia, but his experience working in the ninth inning would be a great bonus for a bullpen that is sputtering in recent weeks.
Pillar and Estévez will each be free agents following this season, which will drive down their value in trade talks. Ward is the real prize here.
Available pieces: OF Lane Thomas, RP Kyle Finnegan
Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported Wednesday evening that the Phillies have interest in Thomas and Finnegan, with the former being a platoon partner for Marsh and the latter being another bullpen option for manager Rob Thomson. The cases for each player are simple:
Thomas, who will turn 29 in August, has almost exclusively played right field over the last two seasons, but has more than enough experience in left field that sliding him over should not be an issue. At one time, Thomas may have been thought of as a no-doubt everyday corner outfielder, but right-handed pitchers have neutralized him in recent years. The good news is that Thomas has slashed .329/.414/.518 against lefty arms in 2024, and has a career .889 OPS against left-handers. Thomas and Marsh platooning would guarantee quality offensive production from left field.
Finnegan, who will turn 33 before the end of the regular season, has posted an ERA of 3.76 or lower in each of his five major-league seasons with Washington. He has several career-best figures in 2024: a 2.32 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, 5.9 hits per nine innings and 3.0 walks per nine innings. As Gelb points out, Finnegan has excellent velocity -- his fastball averages 97.2 miles per hour, according to Baseball Savant, putting him in the 93rd percentile among all pitchers -- and that is something that has generally attracted the Phillies' brass.
Thomas and Finnegan each have one year of team control remaining following 2024.
Available pieces: OF Randy Arozarena, OF Jose Siri, SP Zach Eflin, RP Pete Fairbanks, RP Jason Adam
Arozarena, 29, had a nightmarish start to 2024, posting a slash line that is nearly unfathomable for a player of his caliber through 31 games: .139/.221/.235. In 67 games since, Arozarena has looked more like himself, slashing .245/.359/.472 with 12 home runs and 16 doubles. He has still punished left-handed pitching all year, with an impressive .236/.352/.517 slash line against southpaws. Arozarena is a subpar defender in left field, but the allure of his bat is incredibly tempting, particularly considering his lifetime .288 average and .915 OPS against lefties. He is also a proven playoff performer -- the author of a historic October campaign in 2020 -- with two more years of team control after this one. If the Phillies do seek a deal with Tampa Bay, Arozarena should be their primary target.
If the cost is too rich for Dombrowski, he could look to Siri, an outstanding defensive outfielder who tries to make up for suboptimal on-base skills (.272 OBP in last two seasons) with power (39 home runs in 187 games). Siri just turned 29 himself and would come with three more years of team control after 2024.
The Rays have two impressive right-handed relievers who could interest the Phillies. Fairbanks, 30, has quietly been one of the game's best relief pitchers during his five full seasons in Tampa Bay, where he has posted a 2.79 ERA while striking out more than a dozen batters per nine innings. Fairbanks' strikeout numbers are down quite a bit this season, but he has still been very effective for Rays manager Kevin Cash. Fairbanks has one season left on his contract after this one with a team option for 2026.
The other option is Adam. who has transformed in a major way since joining the Rays in 2021. In more than two and a half years in Tampa Bay, the veteran who will turn 33 in 10 days has posted a 2.21 ERA and 0.86 WHIP while striking out 10.5 batters per nine innings. Adam does not throw as hard as Fairbanks, but is far from a soft-tosser. He has two years of team control left after this one.
Gelb cautioned that the Phillies are not prioritizing adding to their starting rotation, which is understandable given Tyler Phillips' rise to prominence and Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull expected to return at some point this season (Walker seems closer than Turnbull). This likely makes a reunion with Eflin, 30, unlikely. The veteran right-hander returning to Philadelphia and occupying a role resembling the one he held during the team's run to the World Series in 2022 would be a nice story.
A package of Arozarena and one of Fairbanks or Adam would be costly, but it may do the trick.
Available pieces: OF/DH Brent Rooker, OF Miguel Andujar, RP Lucas Erceg
Of course, the rookie flamethrower Miller looms as a target, and he could be considered the most valuable player who could realistically be moved this week. But we are going to focus on players who would not already cost a fortune on their own.
Rooker, 29, absolutely mashes -- and it was on full display when he tormented Phillies pitching in the team's final series before the All-Star break. Rooker, who will enter his first of three arbitration years in 2025, is in the middle of a ridiculous power binge that is timed perfectly for Oakland's front office, which is expected to move him at the peak of his value. Rooker is slashing .291/.370/.578 on the year and is slugging .632 against left-handed pitching. The only drawback is that he is primarily a designated hitter whose ability to man left field on a consistent basis has been called into question. If the Phillies believe he is viable in a corner outfield spot on a daily basis, he should be one of their top targets. But if they do not buy that he can handle that defensive responsibility, they do not have room for him anywhere else on the diamond.
A cheaper option who is more reliable in left field but less dangerous at the plate is Andujar, 29, who is trying to get a once-promising career back on track. He only has one year of team control remaining after this one, but provides a bit of positional versatility with some experience in corner infield spots. Andujar has missed considerable time in 2024 with an injury, and only has a handful of plate appearances against left-handed pitching for Oakland because of it -- though he has obliterated southpaws in that small sample size. Last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Andujar performed well in a similarly small sample size. The Phillies would be taking quite a gamble that his minimal recent success could be extrapolated over the course of the remainder of the regular season and, hopefully, deep into October.
Erceg, 29, is only in his second season in the majors and is under team control for another four years after this one. In a vacuum, Erceg's numbers in 2024 have been decent, but not groundbreaking -- he has a 3.89 ERA and 1.24 WHIP -- but a deeper dive into his statistical profile shows how joining the Phillies could make him a more effective reliever. Erceg has an outstanding slider and averages 98.4 miles per hour on his fastball, making him an extremely tough at-bat for right-handed hitters. But he has struggled against lefty batters, particularly with command. Erceg has limited right-handed hitters to a .232/.276/.317 slash line this season, but lefties have given him trouble, slashing a combined .225/.387/.429. Joining a bullpen that already has three left-handed relievers who are dominant in lefty-lefty matchups -- Matt Strahm, José Alvarado and Gregory Soto -- with two other right-handers in Jeff Hoffman and Orion Kerkering who can also get left-handed batters out, when necessary will simplify the role of any right-hander the team may acquire. Erceg could benefit greatly from being part of this unit.
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