In recent weeks, much has been made of the 63-36 Phillies’ biggest need as the deadline quickly approaches.
Is it a right-handed outfielder, or is it another arm in the back end of the bullpen?
The answer is clear: they need both, but they must be smart about it.
There is no reason to cash in on your big trade chips in Andrew Painter and Aidan Miller at this year’s deadline. The Phillies need to be able to sustain success over the next couple of years; Painter and Miller are a big part of that. Fear not; there are some really good options out there aside from the Mason Miller and Luis Robert types.
After Jose Alvarado’s latest blow, it’s clear that the team could use another arm to get big outs in October. Alvarado, Seranthony Dominguez, and Gregory Soto have all been up and down thus far and have thrown a lot of innings in recent years. Although Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, and Orion Kerkering have all but taken on the high-leverage innings, you can never have enough arms in the playoffs.
The team doesn’t need to cash in on its two big trade chips, Aidan Miller and Andrew Painter. Instead, it can look to Tanner Scott from the Marlins, who has allowed only 6 Earned Runs in 41 innings with 15 saves, or Kyle Finnegan from the Nationals, who has 28 saves. These two would cost significantly less than a player like Mason Miller, who has 5.5 years of control left.
The Phillies also need a right-handed outfield bat.
A player like Randy Arozarena from the Tampa Bay Rays would make a ton of sense. The Rays are hovering right around .500 this year, and in a division with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, it’s tough to see the Rays making any real noise this year. Arozarena is under contract till 2026 and is due for a pay raise that the Rays are very unlikely to want to pay. Arozarena is an everyday player who would allow for a Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas platoon, and he is playoff-proven.
He got off to a rough start this year but has come around since June 1.
Trading for Randy Arozarena just feels like a Dombrowski move.
Playoff riser (career 1.100 OPS in the playoffs), Rays probably don’t want to pay him, a couple years of control past this season, good platoon option with Marsh.
Got off to a slow start but since June 1st:
.293…
— Jack Fritz (@JackFritzWIP) July 21, 2024
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Arozarena has the “it” factor and would fit in perfectly with this Phillies team and city.
The most common phrase you hear from players who have played in the WBC is that it has a “playoff atmosphere.”
No wonder Randy Arozarena is playing so well.
— Shawn Spradling (@Shawn_Spradling) March 13, 2023
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Luckily, Dave Dombrowski has made a whole legacy off of the trade deadline. We have yet to see a true Dave Dombrowski trade deadline because of the slow starts over the last two seasons.
This time of year, in 2022 and 2023, it was very unclear what the team was.
There is no mistaking the fact that this Phillies team has what it takes to win it all, and Dombrowski’s moves should reflect that.
PHOTO: MLB.com
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