The Phillies do ‘need some help’ by trades. But they also need some from Bryce Harper and his teammates.
Harper is right about the need for reinforcements, but it’s really the stars — three hitters, in particular — that must shine brighter.
Help!
I need somebody ...
Help!
... not just anybody ...
Help!
... you know I need someone ...
Helllllllllllllp!
Nine losses in 12 games over a span of 14 days have an effect on people, especially when the trade deadline is bearing down.
It caused Bryce Harper to channel John Lennon.
“I think we need some help,” Harper told reporters in Miami — and that was before the Phillies gagged a 6-0 lead into an 8-6 loss Wednesday, the worst gut punch at the worst time.
» READ MORE: The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.
OK, before we continue: Harper isn’t wrong.
Everyone can see that the Phillies need, at minimum, a right-handed hitter, a late-inning reliever, and another starting pitcher. The front office is aware; 29 other teams know it, too.
Some of it is the consequence of bad luck. The Phillies’ most expensive offseason additions — right fielder Adolis García and reliever Brad Keller — went down with season-ending injuries. Mostly, though, it’s an indictment of Dave Dombrowski’s Jenga-tower roster that a team with a $317 million luxury-tax payroll has so many holes.
And, well, take it away, Bryce.
“I think we’ve proved pretty much all year, we’ve done a pretty good job, but any time you can get some help in here and reinforcements, I think it helps,” he said. “... I think obviously everybody knows what we need. We need both [hitting and pitching].”
Harper shared that opinion during All-Star week and reiterated it to MLB.com and The Athletic a few days ago. But because his latest comments were on camera, and because the deadline is Monday, his words were amplified.
So, can the Phillies get everything they need?
“I don’t know,” Harper said. “We’ll see. I mean, that’s a Dave question.”
As in Dombrowski, who irritated Harper after last season by wondering if he was still elite. They talked it out in spring training, and as owner John Middleton said, “I’m confident that everything’s behind us now.” Clearly it isn’t. As long as Harper hits and Dombrowski builds a contending roster, they will co-exist. But Harper’s cry for help, five days before the deadline, likely annoyed the front office.
In reality, there’s only so much help available on the trade market, with right-handed bats especially scarce.
Entering play Wednesday, 22 teams were no worse than 3½ games out of a wild-card spot. Within that extreme seller’s market, neither Mike Trout nor Byron Buxton is willing to waive no-trade rights. Buxton (hip) went on the injured list Wednesday, and two more available right-handed bats — Spencer Steer of the Reds and the Giants’ Casey Schmitt — suffered major injuries this week.
Last weekend, the Red Sox dealt Connelly Early, a 24-year-old lefty with six quality pitches and five years of club control, for infielder Curtis Mead, who was having a breakout season for the Nationals after getting designated for assignment in March. And even before Mead broke his wrist in his first game, rival scouts agreed that Boston overpaid to gain access to a right-handed hitter.
» READ MORE: It’s clear what the Phillies need at the trade deadline. Do they have the prospect capital to get it?
There’s a larger supply of available starting pitching. The Phillies scouted Giants lefty Robbie Ray last weekend and Mets righty Clay Holmes’ two injury rehab starts in the minors. They reportedly sent scouts to observe the Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman, the Nationals’ Foster Griffin, the Mets’ Freddy Peralta, and others.
But the Phillies really need offense. They’re tied for last in the majors in on-base percentage (.303), including a worst-in-the-majors .279 mark and .639 OPS from their right-handed hitters.
And even if there was a high-impact bat available, the industry consensus is that they lack upper-level talent in the farm system to anchor such a swap.
In that case, no matter what Dombrowski does before 6 p.m. Monday, Harper’s plea for help must extend to his teammates, too. Because although he’s right about the need for reinforcements, it’s really the stars — three hitters, in particular — that must shine brighter.
After winning the batting title and finishing fifth in the National League MVP race last season, Turner is playing at less than replacement level, according to Baseball-Reference’s WAR calculation.
Turner’s value is dragged down by his defense. He has seven errors since the All-Star break and leads the majors with 19, a striking regression from the best defensive season of his career last year.
Lately, the Phillies hold their breath on every grounder to shortstop.
Help!
“He’s just in a place where he’s searching, and he’s too internal with his thought process,” infield coach Bobby Dickerson said this week on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “The ball’s put in play, and he’s thinking more about what to do with his body than engaging with the ball. ... You can see he’s a step late, not as aggressive, not as decisive.
“Right now he’s in a bad place. And it puts us all in a bad place, really. We just need to get him back to what he can do, and it’s my responsibility to get it done.”
» READ MORE: What if the Phillies’ most impactful addition was a resurgent Trea Turner? He’s working to make it happen.
Not coincidentally, Turner’s problems in the field have come in the midst of his career-worst season at the plate.
Through June 15, he was batting .216 with a .268 on-base percentage and a .595 OPS. The last six weeks have been better. In his last 35 games, Turner is batting .296 (43-for-145) and slugging .524 with eight homers.
A midseason position change isn’t under consideration. So, as the Phillies try to fix Turner’s defense, they need at least a high level of production at the plate.
Turner, as intelligent and self-aware as any player, often overthinks his struggles. Dickerson wants him to “be an artist instead of a scientist.”
“He wants answers scientifically a lot of times,” Dickerson said. “The more scientific he is, the more he locks himself up. ... We had his confidence flying high last year. He felt real confident. Now, he’s almost anticipating, don’t mess up. We’ve got to get it right.”
It took only 19 days for the Phillies to climb from the 9-19 start that got Rob Thomson fired to the .500 mark.
Marsh batted .381 during that stretch.
Kyle Schwarber hit 32 homers before the All-Star break, and yes, Harper was elite. But there wasn’t a more consistent Phillies hitter than Marsh, who not only played himself into the lineup against lefties but also the cleanup spot for Don Mattingly.
But Marsh is 5-for-43 with one homer since the break. He stopped hitting lefties, too, and was on the bench last week against the Dodgers’ Eric Lauer and the Yankees’ Ryan Weathers, hardly Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal.
Help!
“I was talking to some guys around the All-Star Week, and I was like, ‘Would you rather be an All-Star or win a World Series?’ And the answer is easy. You’d rather win a World Series,” said Marsh, 4-for-30 against lefties since June 25. “... If that means having to take a step back and be more of a role player, then that’s what I’m going to be.”
Actually, the Phillies need Marsh to be a costar again.
Because Dombrowski could trade for, say, Lane Thomas from the Royals to split time with Marsh as part of a triple-platoon in the outfield. But it would be easier if the Phillies could count on Marsh every day and add lefty-hitting Daulton Varsho from the Blue Jays or Jake McCarthy from the Orioles, or righty-swinging Jo Adell from the Angels or Taylor Ward, if the Orioles sell.
“I do believe that [Marsh] is going to be a guy that can be an everyday guy,” Mattingly said. “Something we talked about is understanding how to hit lefties and what you need to do. Understanding ball movement, what do you want to hit, where does [the swing] have to start. He’s a guy that, honestly, at the big league level has really not had the opportunity to continue to do that.
“But at some point, we’re trying to win games. We need to be better against lefties.”
Harper
Help me if you can, I’m feeling down ...
... and I do appreciate you being ’round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won’t you please, please, help me?
Harper’s candor is refreshing. He speaks his mind, even when it ruffles feathers.
“I mean, Dave’s been doing this a while,” Mattingly told reporters Wednesday. “He’s never really backed away from trying to get guys. We’re going to try to get better at the deadline.”
» READ MORE: What makes Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber such unique stars? We asked each about the other.
Asked if he was bothered by Harper’s comments, Mattingly, whose son, Preston, works under Dombrowski as general manager, said he only was concerned with what they implied.
“If you say something about our team,” Mattingly said, “then you’re saying something about one of our players that you don’t like.”
“Bryce is Bryce,” Mattingly continued. “He’s going to say what he wants. I’m not really concerned about it. I take it kind of with a grain of salt, knowing how players are over the years.”
But Harper also isn’t satisfied with how he has swung the bat lately. He’s 8-for-43 (.186) with 16 strikeouts since the break, even after homering in the first inning Monday and tripling home a run in the fifth inning Wednesday.
As Harper likes to say: “Not enough.”
The Phillies need more, even if help is on the way.
Jim Bowden spent 16 years as a general manager with the Reds and Nationals before becoming an MLB analyst and commentator. And with the trade deadline approaching — Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. — he joined Phillies Extra to discuss the Phillies’ needs, some potential targets, and what it’s like to be a GM in the frenzied days leading up to the deadline. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: John Middleton | Ryan Howard | Dan Baker | Ricky Bottalico | Preston Mattingly | Caleb Cotham | Larry Bowa | Joe Maddon | Rhys Hoskins
