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Potential Phillies Trade Partners and Who to Follow
2022 MLB Opening Day is finally here. Though the Philadelphia Phillies still need to wait another day to take the field, today dawns a season with a familiar goal: End the now decade-long postseason drought.
With reinforcements abounding in names like Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, and Corey Knebel, this team looks primed to put up runs and win ball games. However, some familiar woes could stand in the way with bullpen struggles and suspect defense.
While a few additions have been targeted towards the bullpen weakness through the signing of Knebel, Jeurys Familia, and Brad Hand, it’s very realistic that President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski will need to acquire more late-inning pitching this season.
In addition, the club seems content to let Mickey Moniak and Matt Vierling battle it out to start the season in center field. Both have flashed potential, but neither is a sure thing, therefore presenting center field as another position to watch for a mid-season upgrade.
Given the expectations are higher for Philadelphia than they’ve been in the previous decade, it is once again time to keep an early eye on potential available assets from other clubs. Fans will get a look right away at one of the clubs that the Phillies best match up with in trade.
Opening the season against the Oakland Athletics, in midst of another fire sale, will give a glimpse of names that’ll be available leading up to the Aug. 2 trade deadline. Among them is Opening Day starting pitcher for the A’s, 29-year old Frankie Montas.
Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Frankie Montas
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Last season, Montas finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting. A 3.37 ERA in 187 innings across 32 games helped anchor a solid Oakland rotation. Tallying 207 strikeouts, he would be poised to handle the smaller dimensions of Citizens Bank Park and would upgrade the middle of the rotation behind Wheeler and Nola.
Though guaranteed to face Montas, hopefully the offense can keep closer Lou Trivino sitting in the visitor's bullpen for the first three games. As convenient as it would be for the scouting department to see Trivino pitching live right in Philadelphia, his presence on the mound would mean the Phillies are three outs away from a loss.
Last season, Trivino recorded 22 saves in 26 opportunities. He totaled 71 appearances registering a 3.18 ERA. Should the bullpen experience more of the same struggles, Trivino would be among the prime trade candidates to watch.
Considering Knebel is only on a one-year deal, Dombrowski will have to look to either re-sign Knebel or again fill the closer role externally. Under team control through the 2024 season, Trivino presents an opportunity to get a head start on next offseason by penciling in a dependable closer.
The last member of the Athletics to watch could wind up being the best fit of all. Boasting one of the hardest-hitting outfield group between Harper, Castellanos, and Schwarber, it is clear that whoever is in center field on any given night will have to cover a lot of ground.
Ramón Laureano covers as much of the outfield as any other center fielder in the game. Serving the remaining 27 games of his 80-game suspension for a failed PED test last season, Laureano will be unavailable against the Phillies.
Upon returning to the field, Laureano will again showcase his range in the outfield and elite arm. Flashing back to 2019, he even managed 24 homeruns, showing his power. Prior to his suspension last year, he hit .246 with 14 long balls in 88 games.
Undoubtedly, Laureano would be among the best fits for this club should Moniak and Vierling falter. His suspension could bring down his cost while also providing Philadelphia ample time to analyze their platoon to start the season.
While Oakland represents a selling team whose pieces can be bought, there is a notable contender that the Phillies match up well with in trade. The Seattle Mariners currently have a log jam in the outfield and could look to cash in on one of their assets to address a different position.
With Julio Rodriguez and Jarred Kelenic representing the young future stars of the organization, it is hard to see a market like Seattle moving either of the two. In the midst of contention, Mitch Haniger and the newly acquired Jesse Winker will also be off the trading block. This leaves 2020 AL Rookie of the Year, Kyle Lewis, as the potential odd man out.
Seattle Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis tracks down a fly ball
© Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
That year, Lewis slashed .262/.364/.437 with 11 homeruns across 58 games during the shortened season. In 2021, however, Lewis struggled to stay on the field. This injury concern left the door open for Rodriguez and Kelenic to usurp his organizational role as the center field option of the future.
If nit-picking the Mariners to find a weakness in their lineup, it would surely be the corner infield slots. This presents an opportunity for the organizations to flip former top prospects and Rookie of the Year finalists. Much like Lewis no longer being a fit within Seattle’s lineup, corner infielder Alec Bohm has become a question mark as to where he could play for Philadelphia.
Towards the deadline, both teams could feel compelled to swap these ill-fitting, yet promising players, to end their respective playoff droughts. While the logistics would certainly be tougher to strike a deal between contenders, it is one certainly worth monitoring and exploring.
For what should be an exciting season in itself for the Phillies and their fans, it would behoove them to keep close tabs on the situations surrounding the Athletics and Mariners. While the club looks primed for a playoff push as is, there’s no doubt reinforcements and depth will be necessary by mid-summer. Whether it's bolstering the rotation, lengthening the bullpen, or adding a lockdown defender in center field, expect Dombrowski to continue being aggressive in pursuit of October baseball.
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