UPDATE: Ketel Marte was added because apparently he is on the trade block
Since the Phillies returned from the All-Star break, they have scored 27 runs in their 3 wins. Unfortunately, they have only scored 9 runs in their 6 losses. They either all hit or none of them hit and that’s a real problem. One of the main causes of this disfunction is that they can’t get on base. The team wide batting average is only .236, bad enough for 23rd in MLB and closer to the bottom than league average. While that’s bad, being ranked 27th in walks is even worse. Combined, they have the worst on base percentage in baseball at .303.
Look, that’s bad. Then when you see Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are top 10 in the league in walks, you realize it is even worse. The team has a .273 OBP outside of those two guys. Yikes! We need help. Since DH, SS, primary C, and 1B are locked in, literally anywhere else could use an upgrade. Here are the available options with a big emphasis on OBP and ranked by how much it would take to get them.
Trade Package Key: Low = 1 Top 10 system prospect or less; Medium = 2-3 Top 10 system prospects but no Top 100 overall; High = At least 1 Top 100 overall prospect
- Jonah Heim – Backup Catcher
- Team: Athletics
- Contract: 1/$1m
- Trade Package: Low
- Summary: Heim has been a solid backup catcher since moving to the A’s. While his standard batting numbers stink, he has raked against lefties this year. With Marchan and Stubbs being terrible, they could do worse than to add Heim as the backup catcher while also using him as a righty pinch hitter. Remember, JT has always hit better against righties than lefties.
- Tyrone Taylor – CF
- Team: Mets
- Contract: 1/$3.8m
- Trade Package: Low
- Summary: I know, it’s the Mets, but Taylor is going to be traded and he has crushed lefties this season. He’s probably not an upgrade over Derek Hill, but if it comes down to it and the price was low, the Phillies could use him
- Lars Nootbaar – OF
- Team: Mets
- Contract: 1/$5.25m (plus 1 year of Arb)
- Trade Package: Low
- Summary: Nootbaar knows how to work an at bat, but hitting the ball in play isn’t really his thing. This is strictly a strong side platoon option and not a very good one. As you can read, I’d be thrilled.
- Matt Chapman – 3B
- Team: Giants
- Contract: 5/$126m (yikes)
- Trade Package: Low
- Summary: Chapman’s defense is still great but the bat just isn’t anything special. At 33 with an enormous contract, that’s a problem. The Giants would probably move him for nothing and would be happy about it. Would they take the expiring contract of Alec Bohm? Would the Phillies even want to add a contract like that in the future? I wouldn’t mind revisiting this in the offseason going Chapman for Aaron Nola straight up (though both have no-trade clauses.
- George Springer – OF
- Team: Blue Jays
- Contract: 1/$25m
- Trade Package: Low-Medium
- Summary: Springer is a pure rental with a diminished bat and less than good defense, but he is also a proven playoff performer who can take a walk and hit lefties. That contract is rough, but we would have a use for him.
- Gleyber Torres – Infield
- Team: Tigers
- Contract: 1/$22m
- Trade Package: Low-Medium
- Summary: I almost didn’t put him in, but his splits are too ridiculous not to write about. He’s maybe the most extreme reverse split guy you will ever see. As a righty, he hits other righties at a .317/.407/.403 slash. Lefties? An abysmal .103/.333/.256. He can take a walk though. Detroit would need to eat the hell out of that salary though and the Phillies could platoon him at 3rd with Bohm since Edmundo Sosa can’t hit a barn right now.
- Jo Adell – OF
- Team: Angels
- Contract: 1/$5.2m (plus 1 year of Arb)
- Trade Package: Low-Medium
- Summary: If you think of Adell as an everyday bat, he’s not worth it. Doesn’t walk and strikes out too much. However, he destroys lefties to the tune of a .951 OPS. I don’t know if it is possible to get him at a reasonable price to be the short side in a platoon though. If you combined him and Brandon Marsh you’d have one of the better hitters in baseball.
- Jung Hoo Lee – OF
- Team: Giants
- Contracts: 2/$46.5m + Player Option for 2/$41m
- Trade Package: Low-Medium
- Summary: Lee’s tax number is lower when you look it up because of how they structured the contract. He’d actually cost more for an acquiring team. He hits for a high average and doesn’t have platoon splits, but there’s no power at all, doesn’t walk much and the defense isn’t good. One plus is that he hits much better away from the Giants home field. SF would have to kick in a good chunk of money to move him. He would help the Phillies in the recruitment of future Japanese players though.
- Taylor Ward – OF
- Team: Orioles
- Contract: 1/$12.175m
- Trade Package: Medium
- Summary: Ward checks a lot of Phillies boxes in that he is a right handed hitting outfielder who walks like crazy, a league leading 81 right now (.386 OBP). Oddly, the power he showed previously with the Angels has completely dried up. The best part about him is that even though he hits much better against lefties, he still walks against righties. That’s huge.
- JJ Bleday – OF
- Team: Reds
- Contract: 1/$1.4m (plus 2 years of Arb)
- Trade Package: Medium
- Summary: Bleday has bounced around a lot in his career but is putting together a very solid season in Cincy. He walks a good amount, has solid power numbers, and his platoon splits aren’t that bad. The 2 more years of control and low trade inventory bumps him up to the medium category
- Trevor Larnach – OF
- Team: Twins
- Contract: 1/$4.5 (plus 1 year of Arb)
- Trade Package: Medium
- Summary: Larnach is strictly a strong side platoon option. Considering his .313/.398/.475 split against righties, he’d move Gabriel Rincones Jr right back to the minors. He can’t hit lefties at all though.
- Heliot Ramos – OF
- Team: Giants
- Contract: Minimum (plus 3 years of Arb)
- Trade Package: Medium
- Summary: Ramos has been linked to the Phillies as a good fit. He really is just a short-side platoon bat though and would probably cost more than we’d like to pay due to having 3 years of control remaining. He does not walk and can’t hit righties. No thank you (for the likely price).
- Luis Arraez – 2nd Base
- Team: Giants
- Contract: 1/$12m
- Trade Package: Medium-High
- Summary: Arraez hits, plain and simple. He has the best contact skills since Tony Gwynn and can actually play defense now. Facing lefties or righties doesn’t really matter and I would take him batting cleanup over Alec Bohm any day. Getting him would mean moving him to 2nd and Bryson Stott to 3rd.
- Ketel Marte – Infield
- Team: Diamondbacks
- Contract: 5/$92m with $16m this season (plus a $11.5m player option)
- Trade Package: Medium High
- Summary: Marte has quietly been one of the better players in baseball over the last few years. I’m not sure why they are moving him now, but they do have Top 100 level prospect Demetrio Crisantes ready to fill his role next year. Marte’s numbers are down but he still hits for power and hits better against lefties than righties as a switch hitter. His contract is on the long side for someone who is nearly 33, but it isn’t exactly bad even if the returns are diminishing. The Phillies would probably want to move either Bohm or Stott in the deal.
- Jeremy Pena – Infield
- Team: Astros
- Contract: 1/$9.5m (plus 1 year of Arb)
- Trade Package: High
- Summary: Pena has been good since he started his career back in 2022. Why would the Astros trade the righty shortstop? Because they might not want to pay him just like they didn’t want to pay Kyle Tucker. He’d play 3rd base this season, but would be a good bet to move to SS if Trea Turner moves to the outfield.
- CJ Abrams – SS
- Team: Nationals
- Contract: 1/$4.2m (plus 2 years of Arb)
- Trade Package: Very High
- Summary: The Nationals do not have to move Abrams, but there might not be a better time to do so considering he is maybe the best hitter in the NL right now and would lock down the heart of any contender’s lineup. That being said, back up the prospect truck to get him.
Not on the List:
- Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy – OF
- Team: Rockies
- Contracts: 1/$4m (plus 1 year of Arb) and 1/$1.5 (plus 2 years of Arb)
- Trade Package: Low-Medium
- Summary: Don’t be fooled by solid numbers and a cheap price tag. They both are significantly worse away from Colorado and that’s one of the bigger red flags in baseball. Buyer beware on these two lefties
Contracts: Spotrac
Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images
Philly front office 
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