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The Philadelphia Phillies are rolling through the regular season again. They are trading first place in the NL East back and forth with the New York Mets as the All-Star Game approaches. But the postseason has been difficult for this Philly core, with an NLDS loss to the Amazins ending last year's 95-win campaign. ESPN's Jeff Passan wants the Phillies to trade for Emmanuel Clase at the MLB Trade Deadline to help their postseason issues.
“As long as the Phillies are aiming high — and nobody aims high quite like Dave Dombrowski — perhaps they could take a run at landing both Clase and Steven Kwan from Cleveland.” Passan continued, “Maybe it would take Andrew Painter. Maybe Aidan Miller. Maybe Justin Crawford. Regardless, the Phillies' window is closing, and getting both club control (Clase is under contract through 2028 and Kwan through 2027) and cost certainty (Clase is due $26 million for the next three years and Kwan less than $20 million for two) would make dealing high-end prospects significantly more palatable.”
The Phillies traded for Carlos Estevez from the Los Angeles Angels to be their closer last year. He was sensational for them, but they did not bring him back in free agency. Now, they have been going with a closer by committee with varying success. Bringing in one of the elite closers in the game would solve their problems.
Where could the Phillies turn if Emmanuel Clase is unavailable?
Last year, Clase finished third in Cy Young voting with a 0.61 ERA in 66 appearances in the regular season. Even with a 9.00 ERA in the postseason, he is still seen as an elite closer. The Guardians may not give him up, as they have the core to build around to bounce back in 2026. If Cleveland decides to keep him, where could the Phillies turn?
The Twins are well out of the AL playoff discussion and have two relievers that the Phillies could target. Johan Duran and Griffin Jax both have control left, which could be important for Dombrowski. Both of them are flamethrowers and could be a closer on a playoff team. Duran would be more valuable and could cost an elite prospect.
The Phillies should also be looking for another outfielder, who Cleveland has in Steven Kwan. But if they are not trading Clase, they should not trade Kwan either. That could lead Philly to the Chicago White Sox, where Luis Robert Jr could be on the move.
