The MLB Trade deadline is rapidly approaching and the Phillies are a team expected to make a move or two. Trending in the right direction, the Phils are honing in on the wildcard spot and their explosive offense is ripping through the MLB like a hot knife through butter. But according to Jon Heyman, the team may well be looking for help in centerfield.
Heyman’s report is intriguing. One could argue that Matt Vierling has been a pretty solid CF option for the Phillies up to this point. He’s had 116 outfield assists, 71 put outs and only 1 error.
Michael Taylor
Taylor would be a huge defensive upgrade but one that comes with a sizable contract. However, this may actually help the Phillies from the perspective of not having to surrender as many assets to acquire him. The Braves are also set to be in for Taylor, who is currently thriving in KC, but his defensive ability would be a huge addition to the Phils.
Ramon Laureano
Laureano may be out of reach for the Phils and he is probably the player with the highest upside, it’s just that most of that isn’t going to be harnessed defensively. Given the steep price and misfit to this report, it would be safer for the Phils to look elsewhere.
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Jackie Bradley Jr. is the name that springs to mind here. He’s a Golden Glove winner who still has a tremendous amount of power in his right arm and can really make a difference from a fielding perspective. The hope would be that they can unlock the batting dominance that the once-lethal hitter possessed. Of course, as Heyman mentioned, he also overlaps with Dave Dombrowski, which could make him a very likely trade target.
Could the Phillies sign a wildcard?
Ian Happ could well be a name worth watching. The 27-year-old has been linked with the Phils for some time now, although he hasn’t really played the CF spot in 2022. However, he is having a career-year offensively, batting .279 AVG, .796 OPS, and is striking out much less. He does appear to be the offensive solution to this problem though, so this all comes down to whether or not Heyman’s report carries weight or if the Phils would be willing to sacrifice some defensive prowess for even more firepower at the plate that is going to cost the Phillies fair chunk of money.
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