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Looking at adding a long-time divisional foe to their stable of pitchers, the Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly shown interest in acquiring starting pitcher Tanner Roark from the Cincinnati Reds, according to Jon Heyman. For the Phillies, this would represent bringing Roark back into the National League East, as he was a member of the Washington Nationals for the first six professional seasons of his career before signing a one-year deal with the Reds this past offseason.
Roark would help fill a hole on the team’s starting pitching staff, as newly-signed starter Drew Smyly, while he was sharp in his first start as a Phillie, would be a solid fit to add to the bullpen. End of the rotation starters, like Vince Velazques and Nick Pivetta, could also be moved around with the addition of Roark.
Having watched Roark from afar for six seasons, the Phillies know exactly what kind of pitcher they would be getting by acquiring Roark, even if his 2019 season with Cincinnati has been up and down. While interested more in controllable arms that are under contract beyond this season, Heyman noted that Roark is one of the exceptions that Philadelphia feels comfortable with only being on a one-year agreement.
Across 20 games, all starts, Roark has a six-win, six-loss record with a solid 3.95 ERA across 107 innings. A positive for the Phillies is that Roark looks to be a bit low on his appearances and innings pitched so far this season, so he may have a bit fresher of an arm than other potential acquisitions.
To acquire Roar, the Phillies would not need to give up much, as a lower-end, top-30 prospect and a lottery ticket/flier would probably do the trick for the Reds. Knowing that he is only on a one-year deal, the Reds would need to understand that the 32-year-old hurler has some gas in the tank but not a lot, therefore not fetching a ton of value either.
The Reds look to be dedicated to selling at the deadline, even though the NL Central still remains a bit clogged up from first to fifth place. Having endured a rough part of their season recently, both the Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in a race to the bottom, both plummeting from their once-promising records that had them as close as 4.5 games back of first place in the division.
Currently sitting in third place in the NL East, 5.5 games back of first place, the Phillies have some work to do. They are in the hunt for the Wild Card, however, as they are sitting as the first team out of the Wild Card, one game back of the Washington Nationals.
Facing a tough upcoming stretch of games that include series against the first-place Braves and the surging San Francisco Giants, Roark would be a solid tool for the Phillies to use if they were able to acquire him in time.
