MLB trade deadline preview: Righty-hitting outfielders who could be fits for the Phillies

Expect Dave Dombrowski to go after pitching but the offense could use a jolt. Here are some options to bring balance and some pop to the lineup.

Adam Duvall, Hunter Renfroe, and Tyler O'NeillRead moreAP Photo

by Scott Lauber

Published Jul. 14, 2023, 9:00 a.m. ET

Break time — as in the four-day All-Star hiatus — is over. The MLB draft? Also over. The trade deadline is Aug. 1, and it’s no longer “too early,” nor are there too many distractions, to pull focus from the last best chance for teams to improve their rosters for a playoff push.

Now batting for the Phillies ... Dave Dombrowski.

The next 2½ weeks will be dominated by will-they-or-won’t-they speculation about the Angels and Shohei Ohtani, although officials from multiple teams said this week that they doubt owner Arte Moreno will authorize a trade of the two-way superstar. Likewise, the expectation is that the disappointing Cardinals will move players on expiring contracts, not stars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, both of whom have multiple years left and no-trade protection.

No matter what, the industry consensus is that Dombrowski will busily try to add to the Phillies’ roster before 6 p.m. Aug. 1. This is, after all, his time of year. The veteran president of baseball operations rarely stands pat when the playoffs are within reach. Especially after last season, when the Phillies clinched the final National League wild-card berth on the third-to-last day and rode it to Game 6 of the World Series.

“We’re in a playoff hunt,” Dombrowski said recently. “We’re legitimately in a playoff hunt. We’re playing much better baseball.”

Not to dwell on 2022, but well, it’s analogous to the Phillies’ current standing. A year ago, they overcame a 22-29 start and were 49-43 at the All-Star break, 8½ games out of first place but tied for the last wild-card spot. It’s been the same script (minus the managerial change) in 2023: A 25-32 start, a June surge to get to 48-41 at the break, and a 12-game deficit in the division but only a half-game in the wild-card chase.

The Phillies are in contention and that means president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski likely will be busy at the trade deadline.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

Entering the weekend, the Phillies were on an 87-win pace, which would match their total from last year.

It’s instructive, then, to consider Dombrowski’s actions at last year’s deadline. In a seller’s market for pitching, he targeted a back-end starter but wound up bolstering the bench (Edmundo Sosa), center field (Brandon Marsh), and the bullpen (David Robertson) before landing Noah Syndergaard from the Angels 15 minutes before the deadline.

What will the Phillies do this time around?

If past is prologue, Dombrowski will seek to upgrade multiple areas of the roster, with the ever-shifting priorities looking something like this:

A right-handed hitter. It will likely be a corner outfielder, assuming Bryce Harper is able to play first base soon, as expected, and Kyle Schwarber moves into the DH role.
Starting pitching. Like last year, when the Phillies didn’t pursue Luis Castillo or other top-of-the-rotation options, they figure to seek fifth-starter types and depth fits. It may be a more pressing issue after the recent setback in Andrew Painter’s return from a sprained ligament in his right elbow.
Bullpen. The Phillies actually like their reliever depth but have been hit by recent injuries to José Alvarado and Seranthony Domínguez. It also may be an alternative way to bolster the pitching staff if the return for starters is as costly as expected.

Pitching has actually carried the Phillies back into contention. Taijuan Walker had a 1.50 ERA in six June starts; Ranger Suárez had a 1.08 mark. All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel was 14-for-14 in save opportunities and entered the break with a 1.08 ERA, 40 strikeouts, and five walks in his last 25 appearances. Overall, the Phillies ranked 13th in the majors in ERA (4.06).

But the offense can use a jolt. The Phillies scored 4.51 runs per game in the first half, a shade below league average (4.57). They ranked 18th in homers (99). And while they expect Harper to start hitting home runs again and Trea Turner to just hit consistently, they also could use more power from the right side of the plate.

Here, then, is a look at five righty-hitting outfielders who may be available before Aug. 1:

Adam Duvall

Entering the weekend, the Red Sox were in the unique position of being five games over .500 and in last place.

Buy? Sell? It’s anyone’s guess.

One rival talent evaluator guessed Boston chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom will plot a middle course and subtract players who aren’t signed beyond this year while adding help for the stretch run and beyond. In that case, Duvall could go, likely for a mid-level prospect.

Few players better fit the Phillies’ needs than Duvall, who is owed roughly $3 million through the end of the season. The 34-year-old has slugged .487 since 2019, including .522 this year, and would slot neatly into the No. 6-7 spot in the lineup. He also plays a solid left field, where Schwarber has been the worst defender in the majors.

Oh, and Duvall bashed 16 homers and slugged .513 after being acquired at the deadline in 2021 by the World Series-winning Braves.

Hunter Renfroe

It would be one thing for the Angels to hold on to Ohtani, especially if Moreno thinks he has even the slightest chance of re-signing him. But after losing nine of 10 games — and Mike Trout to a broken hamate bone in his left hand, near the wrist — before the break, there’s not much point to keeping Renfroe.

For one thing, Renfroe is owed about $5 million and isn’t signed beyond this season. For another, he’s taking at-bats that should be going to young outfielders Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell.

Renfroe, 31, entered the weekend with 15 homers and a .741 on-base-plus- slugging. From 2018 to 2022, he batted .240/.302/.490 with 127 homers and 322 RBIs, similar production to Rhys Hoskins in that span (.241/.350/.483, 130 homers, 357 RBIs).

And, really, isn’t it Hoskins’ bat that the Phillies are still looking to replace?

Tyler O’Neill

In an interview this past week with a St. Louis television station, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said he’s “going to trade people ... to get some return that’s going to help us for 2024.”

Translation: Walk-year starters Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery and reliever Jordan Hicks are likely headed out of town.

But the Cardinals don’t do rebuilds. They’re headed for their first losing season since 2007, which stands as their only losing season since 1999. And they play in a weak division. It isn’t in their DNA to trade Goldschmidt or Arenado. They’re more likely to keep building around them.

The Cardinals do have a glut of outfielders, including top prospect Jordan Walker, and not enough at-bats to go around. O’Neill is close to returning from a lower-back strain that has sidelined him since May. He also had a spat with manager Oliver Marmol early in the season and may benefit from a change of scenery.

O’Neill, 28, is under club control through next season, so although the Cardinals would be selling low, they could seek a greater return than the Red Sox or Angels would get for rentals Duvall and Renfroe. Some teams may see O’Neill as an upside play. In 2021, his last healthy season, he hit 34 homers and slugged .560.

Lane Thomas

It’s not clear that the Nationals will trade Thomas. Or even that they should trade him.

On one hand, Thomas turns 28 next month and is under club control through 2025 for what figures to be reasonable money. On the other, he’s having the best year of his career, with 14 homers and a .497 slugging percentage entering the weekend, and could have easily been an All-Star.

So, do the Nationals sell high on Thomas or hold him as a possible piece in their rebuilding project?

Either way, teams are likely to make inquiries. Thomas, acquired from the Cardinals in a shrewd deadline trade in 2021 for veteran pitcher Jon Lester, had back-to-back two-hit games against the Phillies recently. He’s also batting .375/.422/.652 with seven homers against left-handed pitching.

Randal Grichuk

The Rockies haven’t been active at the deadline under general manager Bill Schmidt. They didn’t sell Trevor Story in his walk year in 2021 despite being out of contention and extended then-closer Daniel Bard’s contract last year rather than trading him.

But there’s seemingly no reason not to move Grichuk, who is owed about $4 million through the end of the season. Compared with earlier in his career with the Cardinals and Blue Jays, he hasn’t hit the ball in the air as much in Colorado, strange given what happens to fly balls at Coors Field.

Maybe Grichuk would benefit from working with Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long. And the left-field porch at Citizens Bank Park has been known to be inviting for right-handed pull hitters.