Phillies List of Trade Targets Includes Blue Jays Outfielder

A Toronto Blue Jays outfielder is among the players the Philadelphia Phillies are interested in.

Apr 15, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski watches batting practice before the game against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of needs that they are going to look to address ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

Dave Dombrowski has been able to pull off a lot of magic in years past, but this year may be his toughest act yet. The pitching staff has multiple needs, with the backend of their rotation being a trouble spot and the bridge to closer Jhoan Duran being murky.

In the lineup, the Phillies could use some help in the outfield, and a right-handed bat would be nice to balance things out. One player who they are reportedly interested in to fill the outfield void is Daulton Varsho of the Toronto Blue Jays.

As shared by insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network, the veteran center fielder is among the players who interest Philadelphia.

Phillies interested in acquiring Daulton Varsho from Blue Jays

An earlier report indicated that the Phillies and Blue Jays were emerging as trade partners just four days ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Their front offices know each other well from being spring training neighbors, and the franchises match up well in terms of needs.

Philadelphia wants to upgrade the outfield, starting rotation and bullpen. Toronto is looking to shed salary and has several veterans available in each of those spots, including Varsho.

Price matters here. The Phillies have been mentioned previously as a fit for Varsho, but he doesn’t answer all of their questions in center field. For starters, he is another left-handed bat in a lineup that already skews that direction and hasn’t performed well against left-handed pitchers this season.

Daulton Varsho is among players who interest the Phillies. Philly seeks an OF, pen and a starter.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2026

He would actually present some help in that regard as a lefty with reverse splits, owning a .259/.311/.379 slash line against southpaws. Against righties, he has a lot more pop with a .438 OPS, but his batting average and on-base percentage are both lower.

While the batting performance hasn’t been as good in 2026 as it was in 2025, his OPS+ of 88 is a sizable improvement over what Justin Crawford is providing, with an OPS+ of 74. While the rookie has shown improvements with the glove, Varsho is also the superior fielder right now, and upgrading the defense would help the overall product.

It will be interesting to see how things unfold for Philadelphia in the coming days. A deal with the Blue Jays sounds realistic, and they could address multiple holes by getting a deal done with the defending AL champions.

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