I’m going to be Le Diplomatic in brokering a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies and their I-95 enemies: the Washington Nationals. I’m not above it.
I’m ready to take the honorable Mr. Mike Rizzo out to a very expensive lunch (that turns into an early dinner) because when you’re selling, you deserve a taste of the profiteroles.
I’m trying to spit it out but my mouth’s watering and while D.C.’s faithful’s fallen 22.0 games back in the NL East, they’ve sported a couple of tasty surprises.
Who should the Phillies target from the Nationals?
A Josiah Gray All-Star appearance, the emergence of Lane Thomas, and even the 3.0 WAR of Jeimer Candelario remind me fondly of a 2017 Phillies that flashed but not nearly enough. While I wouldn’t mind the acquisition of all three of the aforementioned, there’s one item on the menu that I cannot resist: Joey Meneses.
He’s not the dirty martini or even the prime rib but sometimes a loaded baked potato does the job. Here’s why the Phillies should trade for the Washington Nationals first baseman.
The Phillies Could be Eating out for cheap
I know you’re going to make me work for this because Meneses isn’t a big name and he doesn’t have big numbers. You could even tell me he’s regressed from his inaugural season which featured a .930 OPS over 56 games (and I might agree).
What’s been different this year has been his “Hard Hit Rate” which has dipped 6.7% from last season. That’s the case against Meneses, along with his ground ball rate. Ground balls aren’t sexy especially following his 2022 debut which featured a 5.7% Home Run Percentage (1.7% in 2023).
Over his short two-year career, when the righty makes contact, it’s about a coin flip to hit it into the dirt but that’s not all bad. It’s not sexy, but it isn’t bad.
Although the Nationals expected a bit more pop from the 31-year-old, when Meneses hits the ball on the ground, his .311 sort of speaks for itself.
And a can forgive a couple of dribblers when you’re complementing them with a whopping .640 on line drives. So while the ‘power’ hasn’t compared to his rookie campaign, I can live with 23 doubles and over 100 hits on the season.
You don’t always need the Prime Rib to fill up
I understand how excited we all got watching Bryce Harper trot out to first but I’d like to get real. I’d prefer someone over at first that has a career field percentage of .994.
No one’s going to X about Meneses (do we still call it Tweeting?) going 1-for-3 with a walk in his Phillies debut but incremental improvement, and Alec Bohm locked in at third base, sounds pretty nice to me.
My argument, really, is that Meneses might not make or break the Phillies’ obvious disadvantage to the Atlanta Braves, but he would be one hell of a 7th-hole hitter and not to mention a cheap date.
Check, please
Hell, if the Nats really want, they can ship Lane Thomas to Philly and really blow this thing out. Joey Meneses – an Amtrak ticket from D.C. to Philly is as low as $38 (I checked).
But more seriously how much will Meneses, who the Nationals have not indicated trading, cost?
I must be writing about this man more than anyone on the internet because I’ve already outlined this swap. The Phillies 25th overall prospect Hans Crouse falls victim to this trade and while we’ll miss him, sources tell me he’s not a very good tipper.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
