Phillies Pitcher Received Trade Interest Ahead of Deadline

The Philadelphia Phillies were receiving inquiries about trading one of their starting pitchers.

Jun 12, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Philadelphia Phillies hat on the field during batting practice before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Philadelphia Phillies were very active ahead of the MLB trade deadline, completing four deals in an effort to upgrade the Major League roster for the stretch run of the season.

However, the team fell short in its pursuit of adding some starting pitching depth to the organization. It was reportedly their No. 1 priority ahead of the deadline, but they were unable to seal the deal to bring in another hurler.

Finding starting pitching depth isn’t an easy thing, as multiple teams around the league have been on the search for some. The Phillies know that firsthand, because president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski revealed that he was receiving calls on one of his pitchers: Alan Rangel.

“President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Rangel has had “ups and downs,” though “people call us about him, about adding to their depth. So yeah, I always worry (about starting pitching depth). But also, after you get past the trading deadline, I worry about our depth everywhere if we have needs,” wrote Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic (subscription required).

Phillies received calls on Alan Rangel

Jul 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Alan Rangel (57) throws a pitch during the second inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rangel is the No. 6 starting pitcher on the organizational depth chart currently. He made five appearances between June and July as the replacement for Andrew Painter when he was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after pitching to a 7.06 ERA in his first 14 Major League outings.

The production from Rangel wasn’t much better. Philadelphia lost all five games that he pitched in, and he had a 5.75 ERA across 20.1 innings pitched. He struggled to keep men off base, allowing 22 hits and issuing 12 walks, while hitting two batters.

Despite his relative ineffectiveness on the mound, he was still generating interest from other teams around the league, which proves just how dire the need for starting pitching depth around baseball is.

Teams were making calls and were willing to trade some assets for a pitcher who has a 5.75 ERA this year in the Big Leagues, and that was considered better than whatever they already had within the organization.

Starting pitching depth is hard to come by

Jun 6, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter (24) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Since no trade was made to bring in another starting pitcher, moving Rangel was a non-starter for the Phillies. Next in line behind him would be Brian Keller, who made his MLB debut on July 25 against the New York Yankees and threw three innings as the bulk inning pitcher behind an opener.

This is something Dombrowski will have to address in the offseason because if any member of the Major League rotation were to go down with an injury, it would be hard to replace those innings.

Sign up for our free newsletter to receive the latest news and updates!