Philly Front Office

Jose Alvarado has been a godsend to this bullpen. Alvarado of 2024 means this team is .500, instead we have the best record in the league. He and Matt Strahm are already being overused though. It has only been 11 games, but we need to talk about ways the Phillies can upgrade. This team is good, but how can it be made great? There aren’t any injury worries yet, but there are some situations that do not look to be resolving themselves.

Hitters

Certain positions are set in stone and won’t be addressed no matter what. These include Catcher, 1st, SS, RF, and DH. Unless there is an injury, those guys are locked in. On the chopping block, but not dire needs are 2nd, 3rd, and LF. I like Bryson Stott and despite my ranting, I still believe in Alec Bohm for the time being. Those would be the spots though. Isn’t it strange that we all want to believe in Stott and are ready to kill Bohm? It could be because Stott knows how to work a count or that we desperately want him to be Chase Utley while Bohm acts like a petulant child, but still. Bohm had a much better year than Stott just last season. Left field isn’t totally an issue, especially when Weston Wilson comes back, but it would be the easiest spot to upgrade.

The biggest need is centerfield. I am just about out on Brandon Marsh and have been since that at bat in Game 5 of the World Series. It was non-competitive in the biggest moment. When he is swinging with confidence, he has a surprising amount of juice, but those moments are coming farther and farther apart. He is near hopeless against lefties. He seems overqualified to be a 4th outfielder, but isn’t a starter on a contender.

Relief Pitchers

We are at least one good arm and one decent lefty short. Last night the Braves were ready to bring in another lefty in the 8th if Schwarber came up. This was after already using Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer. We don’t have those kinds of options because Tanner Banks is just not that. We also had to use 3 relievers to get through 4 innings last night because Thompson (wisely) didn’t trust Jordan Romano. If Romano can’t get his velocity up to 97 again, we need another arm. We could use another rifleman anyway. Right now, it is only Alvarado, Strahm, and Kerkering being used with any confidence.

Starting Pitching

Only kidding. The starting pitching is phenomenal and deep. Ranger Suarez is almost ready to come back and Taijuan Walker hasn’t given up a run yet!!! Oh, and someone recently mentioned that Andrew Painter is on his way. While most contenders will be shopping for starters, we will be in on other markets.

Trade Candidates

Here is the issue, the Phillies are taxed out. They might add a little salary but will not break the bank on acquiring anyone. MLB does not pro rate salaries for luxury tax purposes, so if a player is on the roster by the end of the season (or was released and not claimed), that player counts toward the tax. For this reason, any player acquired would need to be accompanied by sending someone out. This is why I keep banging the drum for holding on to Taijuan Walker. If he is released, we are on the hook for him. If he keeps pitching well, someone might take a big chunk of his salary off our hands.

For the most part, contenders aren’t going to be dealing with us. Not only do they not want to lose talent, but they don’t want to help the competition either. There is always the possibility of a surplus for surplus swap, but those are tough to find. Who is most likely to be a seller this season? It’s early, but I have: Miami, Washington, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Colorado, Tampa, Chicago WS, Minnesota, Cleveland (?), and possibly everyone in the AL West except for Texas. Any deal would have to be for a noticeable upgrade over what we already have. Let’s look at some possible trade candidates:

• Brendan Donovan – 2b – St. Louis Cardinals: The situation in St. Louis is strange. Chaim Bloom takes over as GM next season and it is assumed that anyone there is on the table. On the fringe of that table is Donovan who still has 2 years of control left after this season, something that usually interests the Phillies. He is a lefty who regularly hits for average with solid contact rates. Can he play 3rd?
• Lars Nootbar – RF – St. Louis Cardinals: Everything that was said about Donovan is exactly the same for Nootbar, except Nootbar plays outfield, walks more, and has a funny name.
• Jeremy Pena – SS – Houston Astros: This seemed unheard of back in 2022 when he seemed like the future in Houston, but Pena hasn’t progressed at the plate since his rookie year. He is a full righty who might not be much of an upgrade over Bohm or Stott, but I put him in here just to burn the Astros for recent poor decision making.
• JP Crawford – SS – Seattle Mariners: The former Phillie has 1 season left on his contract in Seattle. He didn’t start hot this season and had a lackluster season at the plate in 2024, but in 2023 he was a high end all star with an .818 OPS, 35 doubles, and a near 1:1 SO/BB ratio. Even if the bat doesn’t get back to those levels, he is still an infinitely better fielder and baserunner than Alec Bohm (he does need to hit though).
• Nolan Arenado – 3B – St. Louis Cardinals: I made the case for Arenado back in the winter that his contract isn’t nearly as bad as it seems if the Cardinals eat some of the money. He is off to a hot start though, so that could put a damper in things. He is a righty with 2 years left on his contract after this one.
• Jake Meyers – CF – Houston Astros: He isn’t the greatest player in the world, but he plays a good centerfield and can hit lefties. He is already 28, bats right handed, and has 2 years of control left after this one. He isn’t a bad platoon option in center for Marsh.
• Steven Kwan – LF – Cleveland Guardians: Kwan is a great fit to the lineup but with nowhere to play. He is one of the best contact hitters in the league but he’s a lefty that can only play left. Kepler would have to be really bad to justify moving him for the price Kwan will cost, but again, he would be the perfect addition to this lineup. You could probably have him lead off followed by Turner, Harper, and Schwarber every day.
• Luis Robert – CF – Chicago White Sox: No. Just no. He stinks. Maybe leaving Chicago will ignite his previous MVP form, but nothing of value should be paid for him. The only trade I would consider is a straight swap of him for Walker. He is a righty who can play center, but he simply can’t make contact with the ball right now. Kevin Long would really need to see something here to buy low.
• Ben Joyce – RP (R) – Anaheim Angels: The good is that he throws 104+ MPH, has many years of control left, and is on a perennially bad team. The bad is that he might not actually be that good, is injury prone, and people will pay for that kind of heat. Still, the Angels are a regular trade partner of ours and the Angels have very little use for a reliever on a team not going anywhere.
• Bryan Abreu – RP (R) – Houston Astros: He has one year of control left after this one and is the kind of arm that could fetch a nice haul for the Astros if he isn’t contending. He has been one of the better setup men in the game the last few years. Note: Josh Hader costs too much for too long to be considered on this list.
• Griffin Jax – RP (R) – Minnesota Twins: Jax is off to a rough start this season, but was high end last year after two other solid years. With two more years of control left, they would have to fall out of contention pretty badly to move him, but he would be worth it to the Phillies.
• Jhoan Duran – RP (R) – Minnesota Twins: Also on the Twins Dhoan is 3 years younger than Jax but still with the same amount of team control left. How about you move one of them Twins?
• Ryan Helsley RP (R) – St. Louis Cardinals: His name has been around for a long time, and assuming the Cards clean house, he would be one of the first to go. He’d instantly be our 1B behind Alvarado’s 1A. He’s making $8m this season.

The inventory of available, quality CFs is so low that the Phillies might consider Justin Crawford by mid-season. He is a lefty, so this would not be a Marsh platoon situation. He is currently off to a hot start in AAA, but I don’t think the Phillies are anxious to break the glass on his big league career. If he’s called up for anything other than injury, it means the front office is out on Marsh.

I wish there was more out there, but here we are. The differences between the Haves and Have Nots are more stark than ever leaving the cupboard of available bats at an all time low. Someone like the Cubs or the Red Sox would have to fall out of contention for the market to perk up, but that doesn’t feel likely.