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Philadelphia Phillies Trade Targets to Help the Bullpen and Starting Rotation

If the Philadelphia Phillies trade for another starting pitcher, they would be smart to choose someone who also has some bullpen experience.

Author:
Leo Morgenstern
Jul 19, 2022 6:30 PM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies could use another starting pitcher.

Zach Eflin remains on the injured list with a sore knee. Ranger Suárez just returned from the IL, and the Phillies are hoping his back spasms won't return. Both have performed well this season, but their injury concerns could be a problem.

Philadelphia has already had to rely on Bailey Falter and Cristopher Sánchez to make seven spot starts. Falter and Sánchez have gotten the job done — the Phillies are 5-2 in their starts — but neither is a viable long-term option.

If Eflin, Suárez, or any of the other starters goes down with a significant injury, Dave Dombrowski will need to find a replacement from outside the organization. With the trade deadline just over two weeks away, Dombrowski will have to move fast if he wants to add another reliable starting pitcher to the roster.

The problem, however, is that if Suárez remains healthy and Eflin's sore knee finally heals, Philadelphia will have a surplus of starters. All things considered, that's a pretty good problem to have, but it will lead to some complicated decisions for Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson down the road.

If the Phillies do trade for another starting pitcher and end up with six healthy and capable starters on the roster, one of them will need to move to the bullpen.

With that in mind, Dombrowski would be wise to look into the starting pitchers on the trading block who also have experience as relievers. Here are some of the options:

Brad Keller

Brad Keller is off to a great start in 2022. In 17 starts, he has thrown 97.2 innings with a 3.96 ERA. Those aren't the kind of numbers that knock your socks off, but they're above-average stats that nearly every team would love to get out of a mid-rotation starter.

Indeed, those numbers are very similar to what the Phillies are getting out of Suárez and Kyle Gibson. In case of an injury to one of Philadelphia's back-end starters, Keller could slot into the rotation and hopefully perform at a similar level.

He also has experience pitching out of the bullpen, which he did in 2018, posting a 2.01 ERA in 20 relief appearances. If the entire starting rotation is healthy, Keller could become a valuable arm out of the bullpen, which the Phillies could certainly use.

Keller is under team control through the 2023 season, so he could take Gibson or Eflin's spot in the rotation next season.

Considering Keller's contract status, relief experience, and good performance thus far in 2022, he makes a lot of sense as a trade target for the Phillies. There haven't been too many trade rumors about Keller yet, suggesting the Royals might want to hold onto him until the offseason, but if he is on the trading block, Dombrowski should put in a call to the Royals right away.

Martín Pérez

Hmm, a veteran starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers who is greatly outperforming expectations this season and who just made his first All-Star team? Sounds like the kind of player Dombrowski likes to trade for.

In all seriousness, Martín Pérez would make an excellent addition to this Phillies club. He has a 2.68 ERA in 111 innings pitched this season, and while his underlying numbers aren't quite so elite (3.14 FIP, 3.71 xFIP), they're still strong and would easily make him the third-best starter in Philadelphia right now.

Pérez pulled double duty last season for the Red Sox as both a starter and a reliever, making 22 starts and 14 relief appearances. He performed better out of the bullpen than he did as a starter, albeit in a limited sample size.

Were the Phillies to trade for Pérez, it wouldn't make sense to use him as a reliever during the regular season — he's been far too good as a starter. However, when the postseason comes around, he could make for a valuable left-handed weapon out of the bullpen.

It would be hard to lose him as the third starter, but given his recent experience as a reliever and his lefty arm, he would probably make for a better multi-inning reliever than Eflin or Gibson.

Pérez isn't the best fit for the Phillies. He has expressed interest in signing a multi-year extension with the Rangers, and the interest appears to be mutual. He also isn't the best choice to go back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation, considering how well he has pitched as a starter. That being said, if Dombrowski can figure out a deal to land Pérez, he will definitely be making Philadelphia a better team.

Mike Minor

Mike Minor is almost the opposite of Martín Pérez. After spending the first two months of the season on the injured list, he is off to a terrible start with the Cincinnati Reds.

In eight starts, he has a 6.21 ERA and -0.3 FanGraphs WAR. Those numbers don't make him look like he'd be much of an upgrade for the Phillies.

However, there are some reasons to be optimistic about Minor. He is averaging more than five innings per start, which is good for a fifth starter, especially one coming off of an injury.

His 5.07 xFIP is still dismal, but it is much better than his 6.37 FIP. His xERA is much more promising, coming in at 4.37. His 4.55 SIERA is not necessarily good, but it is good enough for a back-of-the-rotation pitcher.

Minor has not pitched out of the bullpen recently, but he was a full-time reliver in 2017, when he made 65 appearances and posted a 2.55 ERA. He is five years older now, and he is not the same pitcher he was back then, but his experience as a reliever could still come in handy if he finds himself pitching out of Philadelphia's bullpen.

If the Phillies were to trade for Minor, he would not be an upgrade over any of their current starters, but he could, hopefully, be an upgrade over Falter or Sánchez. He would come at a very cheap cost, considering his poor start to the season and his $10 million salary, and he would serve as an insurance policy in case one of the five main starters has to miss significant time.

Philadelphia should only trade for Minor if they are focusing their biggest trade chips elsewhere to acquire a shutdown reliever or a new bat. Simply put, he is not going to be an impactful addition for a team with postseason aspirations. However, trading for Minor could be a smart "on-the-margins" kind of move that good teams know to make.

Minor would not be as exciting an acquisition as Pérez or even Keller, but he could still make the Phillies a better team.