Podcast: Breaking Down Philadelphia Phillies' Promising Trade Deadline
With the MLB Trade Deadline officially in the rear view mirror, the Philadelphia Phillies were able to buy pitching and batting help.
The big prize the Phillies acquired ahead of the deadline was starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen from the Detroit Tigers. They supplemented that move by adding utilityman Rodolfo Castro from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Sports Illustrated MLB Publisher Kade Kistner joined the "I Said What I Said" podcast to discuss the promising trades Philadelphia made.
"I think that they had an okay deadline," Kistner said. "They went out and got Michael Lorenzen who was one of the top options on the market."
The righty has put together his best season as a starter, posting an ERA of 3.58 in 18 starts. He also gives the Phillies a lot of flexibility on what they can do with their rotation.
"He's going to kind of slot in. He's going to allow the Phillies to run a six-man rotation here for the first 10 or 11 days of August. Then he might go to the bullpen as a long relief guy," Kistner said.
He'll be a welcome addition for a starting rotation that has underperformed compared to expectations with a staff ERA of 4.12.
There were many rumors that the front office was going to acquire an outfielder to help improve the defense that ranks in the bottom of the league.
Instead they traded for switch hitting utility man Castro who plays multiple positions across the infield.
When discussing this move, Kistner said, "Castro comes in as a younger version of Harrison (who was DFA earlier) ... he's got some promising talent, he's a good bench piece and was acquired for almost nothing."
Philadelphia addressed what they needed to make their playoff run without giving up a ton of their future assets.
Watch the full trade deadline recap episode at the YouTube link below, or listen on Spotify at the link below as well.
