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The Philadelphia Phillies' Most Likely Catching Prospects to be Traded

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to have to part with some significant prospects to upgrade at the trade deadline.

Author:
Alex Carr
Jul 8, 2022 6:00 PM EDT

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Baseball is a sport based in (sometimes not-so) equivalent exchange: every significant upgrade comes at a significant price. Does your team want a high draft pick? Well, they're likely going to sacrifice a watchable season of baseball for it. Are they looking to sign the biggest free agent on the market? Get ready to throw down a substantial pile of money, as well as one of their higher draft picks. Thus, is the cruel nature of the sport: you have to give up to get.

And so, with the trade deadline looming, the Philadelphia Phillies are likely looking to part with some significant prospect capital to obtain the necessary upgrades in their current playoff push.

They have lots of holes to fill. They're looking to acquire at least one starting pitcher, and at least one late-inning bullpen arm, as well as possible upgrades in the infield and outfield thanks to long-term injuries. The team might also explore a trade for a long-term fix at center field, given the poor performance of their in-house options.

With so many needs, it begs the question: which Phillies prospects are most likely to be on the block?

The Phillies have a slew of catching depth at the major and minor league level. All of Rafael Marchan, Donny Sands, and Logan O'Hoppe are suitable, near-ready backstops that are ultimately blocked by Philadelphia's current starter, J.T. Realmuto, and even further by new clubhouse lynchpin and clutch-spot phenom in Garrett Stubbs.

This means that any of the aforementioned prospects are candidates to go, especially given the Phillies' current 40-man roster predicament. The team is short on space, particularly considering they have multiple 60-day injured list arms that will need to return soon. The Phillies are also unnecessarily carrying four catchers on their 40-man, something they will almost surely ratify prior to the August second deadline.

Logan O'Hoppe:

Obviously, no team wants to ship off perhaps the most talented position player in their farm system, but it seems quite likely that Logan O'Hoppe will find himself in a new home this summer.

The Phillies have made the mistake before of not selling on a prospect at peak value: Spencer Howard was packaged with two other arms for Kyle Gibson and the shell of Ian Kennedy, Adam Haseley brought back a 23-year-old relief arm in McKinley Moore, and lest anyone forget Adonis Medina was nearly the headliner in a Manny Machado deal at the deadline in 2018.

Logan O'Hoppe is at his peak value, ranking as the third best prospect in the Phillies' system, as well as the 89th best in baseball per MLB Pipeline. He's putting together a career year, and it's hard to see his prospect stock rising any higher. Plus, the Phillies have him blocked at the Triple-A level, as well as the major league level.

The problem then becomes: can the Phillies find a potential suitor for such a high-value catching prospect? Multiple strong potential matches for the Phillies either already have their major league catcher of the future, or have highly-ranked prospects that look to project that way.

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Henry Davis first overall in 2021, the Baltimore Orioles have the best prospect in baseball in Adley Rutschman, the Cincinnati Reds have the promising Tyler Stephenson, the Arizona Diamondbacks have Daulton Varsho, and the Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies have prospects Dillon Dingler and Drew Romo.

Lacking in significant catching talent are the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels, both of whom have pieces that will interest the Phillies, but likely not enough to justify the inclusion of O'Hoppe. Perhaps a three-team trade can be muddled together?

Whatever the delineation, it seems very possible that, for the right deal, the 22-year-old will be on the move prior to August 2.

Donny Sands:

Sands' case in particular is fascinating, and his value is difficult to assess. He is in the middle of a wild career year at 26-years-old, hitting .325/.451/.447 with 28 walks to 23 strikeouts. His bat tops his skill set, as Sands has had an unfortunately tough time catching potential base stealers this year. That said, he has developed into a solid receiver and framer, and will make for a fine major league catching option for a rebuilding club.

The Phillies are by no means forced to ship off Sands, but it feels as if they will most definitely sell high on the catcher, who they acquired from the New York Yankees alongside Nick Nelson this past winter.

Rafael Marchan:

Marchan has been suspected as a Phillies trade chip for the last few years, and while he's no longer considered a prospect, he continues to prove he has what it takes to succeed at the major league level.

The now 23-year-old was out for a good portion of the year thanks to injury, but returned without missing a beat. He's slashing a solid .247/.339/.433 with three home runs in Lehigh Valley, and has obviously shown he can hit major league pitching thanks to a .267/.323/.417 slash across 23 games.

Better than all of that, however, are his defensive numbers. Marchan, as has been showcased at the MLB level, is a plus-defender behind the plate, but has also managed to catch 42% of potential baserunners this year, speaking to his pop time and strong arm. Lest one forget, he also cut down three of the six runners that attempted to swipe on him in the majors.

Marchan is another piece that proves difficult to evaluate, but the Phillies should not "sell low" on the backstop. His emergency promotion in 2020 stripped away his prospect status, and his accelerated timeline has fudged his numbers in the minors, but Marchan still boasts an above-average contact tool, improved though still limited power, and a plus-glove. He's not a piece they'll be eager to give away, and they're certainly not forced to do so.

Marchan hits the cage prior to a game during the 2020 season.
Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

In the end, it seems likely that at least one, if not two, of these prospects will see inclusions in deals prior to August's trade deadline. The Phillies will still maintain depth thanks to whoever ends up the odd one out, as well as system catchers like Vito Friscia, and more promising talents like Rickardo Perez and Andrick Nava who reside in the Phillies' lower levels.

It would be tough to part with any of these young, promising players, but the Phillies have some serious work to do. Thus, it seems as if goodbyes will be in order as the August 2 deadline inches closer.