2015
Phillies trade Jake Diekman, Cole Hamels and cash to the Texas Rangers for Jorge Alfaro, Alec Asher, Jerad Eickhoff, Matt Harrison, Jake Thompson, and Nick Williams.
In an act of pure love for Philadelphia, Cole Hamels decided to throw a no-hitter against the Cubs in his last start to maximize his trade value.
Yet somehow, the Phillies came away with almost nothing from this deal in 2020. Nick Williams is still around somewhere, but no one can seemly decide if he has value or not.
Jorge Alfaro became important only as a trade piece in the future. The “human metronome” Jerad Eickhoff had his internal metronome break. Jake Thompson and Alec Asher were plain bad and Matt Harrison was already broken goods.
If it makes you feel better, the Rangers wasted Hamels as they lost in the ALDS in both 2015 and 2016.
There is no excuse for the Phillies’ front office on this one. No one may have “won” the trade but the Phillies should have taken a grand prize at the county fair, not just a blue ribbon.
Phillies trade Chase Utley to the Dodgers for Darnell Sweeny and John Richy
Hey, look! It’s the trade that absolutely ripped my soul out! COOL!
The Dodgers, remembering how much they gave up for Jimmy Rollins, gave up relatively nothing for a silent team leading that would become the Silver Fox. Darnell Sweeny would have a cup of coffee with the Phillies and John Richy would never hit the big time.
Utley would go on to endear himself with his hometown Southern California. He would also adopt a 3rd son, Kike Hernandez.
You can’t convince me that any other Phillie will ever be more loved in Philadelphia than Chase Utley. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was bitterly destroyed emotionally by this trade.
It doesn’t help that we lost it either.
Phillies traded Jonathan Arauz and Ken Giles to the Houston Astros for Mark Appel, Harold Arauz, Tom Eshelman, Brett Oberholtzer, and Vince Velasquez
So. We’ve come to this. Somehow, this trade still has a chance to be a win for the Phillies. It all comes down to Vince Velasquez, who remains the only surviving player on the Phillies roster.
As of now, Velasquez still only has his 16 K shut out of the San Diego Padres to hang his hat on. Hopefully, Bryan Price has some tricks up his sleeve.
Ken Giles would have a mixed bag of time in Houston. He’d have a 3.57 ERA and curse out his manager. He’d also falter heavily in the postseason with an 11.74 ERA in 7 games.
The Phillies had the right idea to trade Giles but now, in hindsight, it might have been better to keep him. He’d still be under team control until 2021. In the last 2 seasons, he’s had a 2.48 ERA with the Blue Jays.
Oh, and did I mention the Phillies received the biggest bust of a number 1 overall pick in return in Mark Appel? He’s out of baseball now.
2016
Phillies traded Carlos Ruiz and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tommy Bergjans, Joey Curletta, and A.J. Ellis
Carlos Ruiz managed to stay with the Phillies longer than any other 2008 World Series player. Even Chooch had to go sometime, though. Of course, he too went to the Dodgers.
Phillies essentially swapped catchers as they received A.J. Ellis in return. Ellis, to his credit, batted .313 with an .871 OPS in limited time with the Phillies.
This trade would bear zero fruits for the Phillies’ future, however as Bergjans and Curletta would do absolutely nothing.
2017
While no major trades occurred in 2017, there are a few of note that could have some bearing on the future.
The Phillies sent Pat Neshek to the Rockies for 3 minor leaguers, one of which was J.D. Hammer. Hammer could have a significant impact on the Phillies’ bullpen if he can improve on his rookie campaign. He had a 3.79 ERA in 20 games in 2019.
The Phillies also swapped Jeremy Hellickson to the Orioles for Hyun Soo Kim and Garrett Cleavinger. Cleavinger finds himself on the Phillies 40 roster at the moment. He had an interesting year at AA Reading with a 3.66 ERA and a K/9 of 14.6. That’s 83 K in 51.2 IP.
2018
Phillies traded J.P. Crawford and Carlos Santana to the Seattle Mariners for Juan Nicasio, James Pazos, and Jean Segura
This trade now has some mixed reviews after just over a year. Carlos Santana was traded in order to move Rhys Hoskins to first base from left field. Santana decided to mess around and have his first All-Star season all while slashing .281/.397/.515 with 34 HR.
The jury has still not been settled on J.P. Crawford. He could still come back to bite the Phillies in the gluteus maximus. Wouldn’t that be just dandy!
Juan Nicasio had a 4.75 ERA in 2019. James Pazos didn’t make the team. Jean Segura went from hitting .308 from 2016-2018 to hitting .280 in 2019.
Jean Segura could still rebound and Rhys Hoskins could make the move worth it as well. It up to new hitting coach Joe Dillon for that one.
Phillies trade Luis Garcia to the Angels for Jose Alvarez
This has become a huge win for the Phillies. Luis Garcia was one of the most inconsistent relievers in the Phillies’ bullpen. He had a 6.07 ERA in 2018 and a 4.35 ERA in 2019 with the Angels.
Meanwhile, Jose Alvarez was one of the Phillies’ most consistent bullpen pieces. In 2019, Alvarez posted a 3.36 ERA.
I see this as an absolute win!
2019
Phillies traded Sixto Sanchez, Will Stewart, Jorge Alfaro, and international bonus slot money to the Miami Marlins for J.T. Realmuto
Do you want the fan take or the realist take?
Fan Take
J.T. Realmuto is the BCIB (Best Catcher in Baseball. This was confirmed by the first-ever All-MLB Team vote. He set a new career-high in slugging %, doubles, homers, and RBI.
J.T. is the best player on the Phillies and will continue to be so in the new decade. Sixto Sanchez was facing injury when he was traded and Jorge Alfaro will probably never cut down on his strikeouts.
Realist Take
The Phillies have yet to resign J.T. Realmuto. If the Phillies underperform significantly before the trade deadline, the Phillies should consider trading J.T. Realmuto.
They can’t play around anymore. The Phillies can’t afford another 7-year rebuild. This trade could backfire or could still be a success. It all depends on how long J.T. Realmuto actually plays for the Phillies and how Sixto Sanchez pans out. Sixto had a 2.53 ERA in his first 18 AA starts with the Marlins.
Alfaro wasn’t bad. Realmuto is clearly just leaps and bounds better. No one has won this one yet.
