One-stop shopping for the Phillies at the trade deadline again? Here’s three teams that could be a fit

Last summer, at a win-now moment in their competitive cycle, the Phillies addressed two holes in the roster with one-stop shopping at the trade deadline.

Sort of.

Priority No. 1 felt familiar. Despite trading for a reliever at other recent deadlines, the Phillies’ playoff runs in 2023 and ’24 were torpedoed by the bullpen. So, they went in search of a lockdown late-inning anchor.

But they had another obvious shortcoming: a righty-hitting outfielder to platoon in left field or, better yet, stop the revolving door in center.

» READ MORE: The Phillies still need a right-handed bat. Let’s take an early dive into some options before the trade deadline.

For weeks, Dave Dombrowski and his front office made calls and put out feelers. But gridlock in the wild-card standings — think of the Schuylkill Expressway at rush hour — led to market fluidity until a few days before the July 31 deadline.

After fence-sitting amid ownership uncertainty, the Twins finally decided to break up their roster. On the eve of the deadline, the Phillies landed Jhoan Duran for two top-100 prospects (pitcher Mick Abel and teenage catcher Eduardo Tait), a steep price for a closer, albeit a star who came with two full seasons of club control.

Harrison Bader’s name came up in the Duran talks, a source with knowledge of the conversations said, but the Twins kept the center fielder out of the deal as they orchestrated an everything-must-go bonanza in which they wound up unloading 11 major league players. The next day, Bader went to the Phillies for two minor leaguers.

Two trades. One-stop shopping.

Eleven months later — still in win-now mode, and back on a 90-win pace at the mathematical midpoint of the season after a 9-19 start that cost manager Rob Thomson his job — the Phillies again have multiple needs. The top priority is up for debate, even among some in the organization, but in some order:

And with the trade deadline a little more than five weeks away — jot it down: Aug. 3, 6 p.m. — it’s worth wondering if they can one-stop shop once again.

Before we explore a few potential trade partners, a few caveats:

» READ MORE: What if the Phillies’ most impactful addition was a resurgent Trea Turner? He’s working to make it happen.

1. Across the sport, right-handed hitters had a .703 OPS through Thursday, which would be the third-lowest mark since 1991. Righty-hitting outfielders had a .709 OPS, tied for the second-lowest in the last 70 years. And two of the best, Mike Trout and Byron Buxton, have no-trade clauses and no interest in waiving them.

2. That said, the easiest place for the Phillies to add a right-handed bat is in the outfield … unless they move Bryce Harper back to right field and open first base (or third, if they shift Alec Bohm to first). Harper recently reiterated that he’d be open to it “for the right player.”

Dombrowski, on the other hand …

“We haven’t talked to him about it, and I really don’t contemplate it because I really like the way he goes about his business at first base,” he said recently. “I look at him as being our first baseman.”

3. Over the last few years, the Phillies traded Abel, Tait, and fellow prospects Hendry Mendez, Starlyn Caba, William Bergolla Jr., George Klassen, Sam Aldegheri, Hao-Yu Lee, Mickey Moniak, Ben Brown, Logan O’Hoppe, and TJ Rumfield, among others. The teams hasn’t been burned, but it has drained the farm system.

Andrew Painter (starting Sunday in triple A), Justin Crawford (graduated to the majors), and Aidan Miller (injured) were largely untouchable in previous talks. If that’s still the case, the best chips in a top-heavy system are right-hander Gage Wood, infielder Aroon Escobar, outfielder Dante Nori, and 17-year-old outfielder Francisco Renteria, off to a flying start in the Dominican Summer League.

It begs the question of whether the Phillies have the prospect capital to fill each of their needs.

“We feel good where our system’s at,” general manager Preston Mattingly said recently on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. “We’re not concerned about a lack of assets in the minor leagues. A lot of times you see that top-100 [prospects] list. That’s not necessarily what teams internally talk about, and those are not the players they ask about.”

» READ MORE: John Middleton on Phillies’ high payroll amid looming labor war, Dave Dombrowski-Bryce Harper saga, and more

4. Remember that Schuylkill-style traffic jam in the standings last July? Well, entering the weekend, 24 teams were in a playoff spot or no more than five games out. Only four American League teams — four! — were even above .500.

Given the dearth of obvious sellers, one league source predicted that contenders may have to trade with each other. Think of the 2024 deadline, when the Phillies got outfielder Austin Hays in a buyer-to-buyer swap with the Orioles.

5. Oh, and did we mention there’s a work stoppage looming in December? The owners and players are at odds over, well, everything. And regardless of whether the owners get their salary cap, the sport’s economic system will change in ways that front offices can’t possibly anticipate as they maneuver at the deadline.

Got all that? Amid that backdrop, here’s a look at three teams that might match up with the Phillies on one or more of their needs.

Here’s all you need to know about the state of play in the AL: The Orioles haven’t been over .500 since April 14, but were only 1½ games out of a wild-card spot entering the weekend.

No wonder a white flag isn’t flying over Camden Yards.

The next two weeks may determine which trade-deadline lane the Orioles choose. They play 12 of 15 games before the All-Star break at home, where they were 22-19 with a plus-13 run differential going into the weekend.

And if they’re still undecided on a path as the deadline approaches, the Phillies will visit Baltimore on July 31.

» READ MORE: ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Preston Mattingly on the trade deadline, his ‘special’ chance to work with his dad, and more

Maybe they can take Taylor Ward home with them?

Ward, 32, was popular in trade rumors for years with the Angels before finally getting dealt to the Orioles in the offseason. He entered the weekend with only five homers after averaging 24 in the last four seasons, but appears to have traded power for on-base ability, reaching at a .389 clip.

(Phillies right-handed hitters had combined for a .269 on-base percentage, last in the majors.)

Ward would fit atop the order ahead of Kyle Schwarber and Harper, enabling interim manager Don Mattingly to finally slide Trea Turner down. Or the Phillies could put Ward in the cleanup spot behind Harper and work on restoring his fly-ball and barrel rates to his career levels.

As a free agent after the season, Ward probably won’t come at a high acquisition cost. But the Orioles would get a better return if they package him with rental starter Trevor Rogers or controllable relievers Yennier Cano or Rico Garcia.

Potential trade: Ward and Cano for Nori and right-hander Ramon Marquez.

Two years ago, the Phillies raced to a big lead en route to an NL East title. But they went 33-33 after the All-Star break and lost their momentum in part because they lacked a competent No. 5 starter.

Dombrowski regretted not getting one at the deadline.

“I’ll take the responsibility,” he said after a divisional-round knockout. “When you look at the fifth spot that we had, that was not a good spot at all for us the last two months of the season.”

Maybe it will inform how Dombrowski acts now, with Painter back in triple A and a hole at the back of the rotation. But teams don’t use five starters in the postseason. So, unless the Phillies can upgrade from Aaron Nola, or even Jesús Luzardo, they won’t want to give up an asset.

» READ MORE: Is it finally time for Mike Trout to be traded? The all-in Phillies make too much sense.

In that case, the rental market is an option. And the Giants’ Robbie Ray is a classic rental. The 34-year-old lefty will be a free agent after the season. He has pitched well lately, too, allowing one earned run or fewer in four of his last five starts.

In lieu of what the Giants really want to do — offload unwieldy long-term contracts for Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, and Rafael Devers — they almost certainly will move Ray.

If the Phillies take on the $12.5 million that Ray is owed through the end of the season, the return would be minimal. But the Giants can get a better prospect by including, say, controllable outfielder Heliot Ramos, who is nearing a return from a quadriceps strain.

Potential trade: Ray and Ramos for outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. and righty Jean Cabrera.

When the Red Sox finally accept reality and go into sell mode, they will have players who are in demand.

Atop the list: fire-breathing closer Aroldis Chapman.

Even at age 38, Chapman is lighting up radar guns and overpowering hitters. Entering the weekend, these were his numbers in two years with the Red Sox: 1.39 ERA, 47-for-50 in save chances, 114 strikeouts, 25 walks in 84 innings. His fastball still averages 97.4 mph.

Chapman has 382 career saves, 10th on the all-time list. With the Phillies, he would supplant José Alvarado as the high-leverage lefty and set up for Duran. He has filled a setup role before, notably in 2023 for the World Series-winning Rangers.

» READ MORE: Mets’ Bo Bichette says he wasn’t close to signing with the Phillies in the offseason

Two years ago, the Phillies acquired walk-year closer Carlos Estévez from the Angels for two pitching prospects (Klassen and Aldegheri). The Sox will likely seek a similar haul for Chapman, a free agent at season’s end.

They will have a harder time maximizing the value for outfielder Jarren Duran. Although he’s under team control through 2028, the 29-year-old’s production has dropped off since his All-Star season in 2024.

Duran is a left-handed hitter, not an ideal fit for the Phillies. But given the lack of righty-hitting outfield options, he’s worth considering as a buy-low candidate.

Potential trade: Chapman and Duran for Escobar, Marquez, and righty Matthew Fisher.

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Ricky Bottalico spouts opinions each day on sports-talk radio and the Phillies' television pre- and postgame show. But before all that, he had a solid career as a relief pitcher, even representing the Phillies in the 1996 All-Star Game at Veterans Stadium. With the baseball world set to descend on Philly again in a few weeks, Ricky Bo joined "Phillies Extra" to re-live his All-Star experience. Watch here.

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