Philadelphia Phillies
As we’ve already established in these pages, the Phillies could use some help in the rotation. They’re beginning to see more and more distance between themselves and the Atlanta Braves — along with the Washington Nationals in front of them — yet they enter Thursday just a half-game out of the final wild-card spot.
The starting staff is in such a situation that Philly just acquired Drew Smyly for the fifth spot in their rotation. Smyly has struggled in his first full year back from Tommy John surgery, posting an 8.42 ERA in 51.1 innings with the Texas Rangers before getting designated for assignment and then released.
While Philly has reportedly been “eyeing” Bumgarner, they’ve also been discussing Mike Minor, Matthew Boyd, and even Zack Greinke.
But when we combine Bumgarner’s concerning batted-ball profile with Citizens Bank Park — even more homer-friendly than Miller Park — this doesn’t seem like the best match. Plus, one would imagine the Phillies are more willing to pay a higher price for a bigger splash based off the active offseason they just had.
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