The Philadelphia Phillies have been white-hot through the first two months of the MLB season, and despite co-holding the best record in the majors, the Phillies will reportedly be “all over the outfield market” as the trade deadline approaches.
While Philadelphia's offense has been a massive point of strength this year, its outfield's production has left a lot to be desired. But according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Phillies will look to bolster their outfield as the trade deadline draws near.
“Short of moving Edmundo Sosa to the outfield once Trea Turner returns, the Phillies don't have much in the way of internal help to solve their outfield hitting issues,” Passan wrote in his ‘early trade deadline preview.' “They'll be all over the outfield market. Otherwise, though, there's no real weakness to address at the deadline. Maybe a utility man? Potentially another reliever to add to a group that with Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado, Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Ruiz and Gregory Soto has spent the last month looking downright unhittable? President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tends to adhere to a go-big-or-go-home philosophy, and whether it's [Luis] Robert, [Randy] Arozarena or even [Kyle] Tucker, he's got the minor league system to convince an on-the-fence team to deal a true impact outfielder.”
Phillies' 2024 season: By the numbers
In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers have been a cut above the rest. In addition to holding the two best records in the NL, they also boast the two highest WAR totals. And yet, the Phillies lag behind several teams when it comes to their outfield.
Through more than a third of the season, the Phillies' outfield have been earned -0.8 wins above replacement, bad enough for 11th-worst in MLB. Right field, in particular, has been an issue, as Nick Castellanos has not only failed to build on his All-Star season last year, but he is having possibly the worst season of his career so far. Castellanos's batting splits are .212 AVG / .271 OBP / .338 SLG / .609 SLG, all figures that either put him dead-last among the Phillies' lineup or very close to it.
Fortunately, Philadelphia's starting rotation and top of the order has largely helped keep Castellanos' major struggles from becoming much more dire. Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suraez, and Cristopher Sanchez have all pitched incredibly well, with Nola's 3.03 ERA being the highest among the four. The foursome have combined for nearly 300 strikeouts and have accounted for nearly 7 wins above replacement.
While Castellanos and others, such as Johan Rojas and Bryson Stott, have struggled, Bryce Harper has more than picked up the slack. The two-time MVP is playing at a caliber that very well could earn him a third; Harper is batting .271 / .376 / .522 and has hit 14 home runs (tied for third-most in the NL) and 44 RBIs (T-4th in NL). Additionally, his slugging percentage is currently ranked only behind Marcell Ozuna and Shohei Ohtani in the NL.
Getting Harper and the rotation the help they deserve will be crucial over the next eight weeks, however, as the Phillies attempt to shake off their bitter NLCS defeat and return to the World Series.
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