Bryan De La Cruz powered the Phillies’ rain-shortened victory over the Orioles. Could he be a trade deadline alternative?

BALTIMORE — Last year, on the eve of the deadline, the Phillies completed a massive trade for star closer Jhoan Duran during a rain delay.

They had two downpours Sunday to make another splash.

No such luck.

There’s still time. Club executives have until 6 p.m. Monday before they must put down their pencils and live with the rosters they’ve built, at least for the duration of the season. And so, Dave Dombrowski keeps working the phones.

In the meantime, Bryan De La Cruz is giving the Phillies something to think about.

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A veteran outfielder who finally got called up two weeks ago after 3½ months in triple A, De La Cruz crushed a two-run homer in the third inning of a rain-interrupted (twice) 8-0 thumping of the Orioles that was shortened to six innings after a second midgame downpour.

Make it back-to-back victories for the Phillies after four consecutive losses. And make it nine hits and six RBIs in 20 at-bats for De La Cruz since his arrival.

Impressive? Sure. Enough to call off the Phillies’ search for a right-handed bat? Probably not. But it might alter it.

“I mean, we played against him a lot, obviously seeing him in Miami,” said Bryce Harper, who homered in the fifth inning in between the rain. “He’s always got a good swing, good pop. Good to see him swinging that well.”

Speaking of sights for sore eyes, six days after Zack Wheeler’s fastball velocity nosedived in his worst start of the season, his heater climbed back to 96 mph and sat at 94-95. All along, interim manager Don Mattingly claimed he wasn’t concerned; Wheeler dismissed Monday night in Miami as merely a bad day.

But still, given his importance to the whole thing, team officials were relieved to see Wheeler look like Wheeler.

If only he got to do it for more than two innings.

“It is what it is,” said Wheeler, who retired six of seven batters on 32 batters, then said he threw another 40-something pitches under the stands during a 1-hour, 49-minute rain delay. “I’m not frustrated, really. I felt good. I felt better than the other day.”

» READ MORE: Phillies continue to seek help for ‘man down’ bullpen before Monday’s trade deadline

As a group, the Phillies said the same after rebounding from getting swept in Miami by taking two of three from the Orioles.

By Monday evening, they hope to feel even better.

Dombrowski convened more than a dozen executives, analysts, and scouts in Baltimore for the weekend. They continue to pursue a right-handed bat, a late-inning reliever, and a starting pitcher, according to multiple league sources.

Given the supply in an extreme seller’s market, the bat may be the hardest thing to find. The Reds’ Spencer Steer and the Giants’ Casey Schmitt might have been options if they hadn’t gotten injured. The Phillies were interested in the Royals’ Lane Thomas before he got traded to the Braves late Saturday night.

The Phillies got an up-close look at the Orioles’ Taylor Ward over the weekend. But Baltimore is straddling the buyer-seller fence, as president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday, and might choose to hold Ward, even though he’s a pending free agent.

Other possibilities include the Angels’ Jo Adell and the Dodgers’ Alex Call.

Then, there’s De La Cruz, a 29-year-old righty-hitting outfielder with 60 homers as a replacement-level player in winding major-league career. He wasn’t called up from triple A until after the Phillies gave looks to Otto Kemp, Felix Reyes, and lefty-hitting Gabriel Rincones Jr.

“It’s a dream come true, really,” De La Cruz said through a team interpreter. “I spent the last three or four years playing against this team, so being a part of it, it’s just really fun. I’m just thankful and grateful for the opportunity.”

» READ MORE: The Phillies do ‘need some help’ by trades. But they also need some from Bryce Harper and his teammates.

Mattingly was De La Cruz’s first major-league manager with the Marlins in 2021. As a rookie, De La Cruz batted .297 with five homers and a .783 OPS.

Upon getting called up after the All-Star break, De La Cruz started mostly against lefties. Lately, Mattingly has given him at-bats against righties, too, leaving Rincones as an odd-man out.

“De La’s been good, right?” Mattingly said. “He’s just solid. And he’s been that guy that, parts of his career, it’s like been really good.”

If anything, De La Cruz’s production may compel the Phillies to widen their search to include a left-handed bat, such as Blue Jays center fielder Daulton Varsho. Outfield remains the easiest place to add a hitter, but if they trust De La Cruz, they could shift to Giants second baseman Luis Arraez, a move that would require a reshuffling of the infield.

Or they could reserve their biggest swing for pitching help. The Phillies had a scout in Brooklyn on Sunday to watch Mets righty Clay Holmes, who is coming back from a leg fracture. As a former closer and now a starter, Holmes could help deepen the rotation before shifting to the bullpen in the playoffs.

In any case, De La Cruz could create additional options.

“I can’t control what the team wants to do or doesn’t want to do, or if they make a move,” De La Cruz said. “I can’t control that. What I can control is what I do on the field, and I think that’s something that I’ll be focusing on.”

The Phillies couldn’t control the weather in the finale against the Orioles. Mattingly said the forecast he received before the game called for the rain to hold off until 3 p.m. It started almost 90 minutes earlier, and by the third inning, with the Phillies leading 2-0 on De La Cruz’s homer, puddles began forming in the infield. The conditions were unplayable.

And by the time the first wave of rain tapered off and the field was prepared, too much time had elapsed for either team to bring back their starting pitcher.

″I know they’re trying to make the best decision, but that was a little frustrating," Mattingly said. “At the end of the day, it worked out.”

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No matter what moves the Phillies make before the trade deadline Monday, they will have to fix some of their issues internally. Chief among them: Trea Turner's defense at shortstop. And that's where infield coach Bobby Dickerson comes in. Dickerson sat down with "Phillies Extra," The Inquirer's baseball podcast, to discuss Turner's struggles, the problems with analytics in measuring defense, his unique coaching style, and more. Watch here.

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