Phillies Trade Deadline Speculation

Now that all of baseball is taking a break it is a good time to reflect on the Phillies season so far.  The team is currently 6.5 games out of first place in the NL East, and 5.5 out of a wild card spot with a record of 48-48.  The team has been incredibly inconsistent but has played great of late.  They have won their last four series and head into the break with a ton of momentum.  However there are still many conflicting reports of whether or not the Phillies will be buyers or sellers.  In my opinion I see the team going into buy mode with the exception of maybe trading Michael Young for some bullpen help.  Below I am going to discuss what the Phillies should do with the trade deadline approaching.

The first matter of business the Phillies need to attend to is adding a bullpen piece.  The thing is there is not much on the market as of right now, and the team might be forced to part ways with third baseman Michael Young.  Losing Young would hurt the Phillies since he has been so productive, but the team could plug in Kevin Frandsen.  Frandsen has been Mr. Clutch for the Phillies all year long and would serve as a solid replacement for Young.

Now the question becomes who could the team look to acquire?  One thing is for sure and that is that the team will not look to acquire Joba Chamberlin from the Yankees as reported by Ken Rosenthal.  The market is slim, and many teams want to hold on to their valuable pieces.  The first thought is that the team could try and pry a reliever from the Padres.  The Padres have a solid bullpen, and a name that has been mentioned in trade rumors is Huston Street.  Street would probably not embrace a role as an 8th inning guy, but imagine Street and Papelbon shutting the door on teams.  It is a wishful thought but unlikely.  The next thought is the Phillies could look to deal with the Rockies.  The Rockies have two great pieces in Rex Brothers, and Rafael Betancourt.  Brothers, their closer of the future, would likely require a package too steep for the team.  However Betancourt an impending free agent could serve as a great set-up man for cheap.  These are a few options the Phillies could look to attempt but might require too much young talent.  The market is not very active for bullpen pieces right now, and the Phillies could struggle to add the set-up man they desperately need.

With Ben Revere breaking his foot and expected to miss 6-8 weeks the team is now in the market for a new center fielder.  The most obvious choice the fans and club would welcome is Alex Rios.  Rios is a 5 tool player that would instantly make this lineup better.  Rios is batting .270 with 11 home runs and 40 rbis.  He also has 19 stolen bases and would give the Phillies some extra speed on the base paths.  Rios is the most attractive name out there right now and he would clearly not come cheap.  Getting Rios would acquire a package of young prospects, but he could be a true difference maker for the Phillies.  Another name that has been mentioned in talks has been Justin Ruggiano.  Ruggiano has been decent this year only batting .212 with 12 homers, but could come cheap.  He is still young enough to develop into a solid player.  If the Phillies could get him for cheap then it would a low risk/high reward type deal.

Since the market is not stacked with batters either, the Phillies could hold tight and call up top prospect Cesar Hernandez.  Hernandez, a second basemen was recently optioned to Double-A Reading to get some reps at center field.  This is a sign that the team is considering calling him up to play center every day.  This shows how much confidence they have in the youngster, but the team could also stick with John. Mayberry Jr.  These are just a few guesses as to what the Phillies could look to do.  As the July 31 trade deadline gets closer, the rumors will heat up and we should have a much clearer idea of who the Phillies will go after.