The Philadelphia Phillies have begun to fade in the National League’s East Division. Could that make them sellers at the trade deadline?
One month ago, the Philadelphia Phillies were the biggest surprise in Major League Baseball. After a 4-2 defeat of the Miami Marlins, the Phillies sat 24-17 and in a tie with the New York Mets for second place in the NL East, just half a game back of the Washington Nationals. The young, rebuilding ballclub helmed by Pete Mackanin was defying expectations and forcing some to wonder if they could contend throughout the summer.
Fast forward to today and the picture is much different. Philadelphia has gone 6-20 since that high-water mark, and at 30-37, now finds itself trailing the Nationals by 12 games. The team is dead last in the National League in batting average and on-base percentage, and second to last in runs scored, slugging percentage, and OPS. The pitching staff that had kept the Phillies afloat through the first month and a half of the season began to show its inexperience as well, and a regression to the middle of the NL pack took place.
Lately, a right biceps injury landed promising young starter Vincent Velasquez on the disabled list, and longtime everyday players Ryan Howard and Peter Bourjos were benched due to lack of production. Howard, who is in the final year of a 5-year, $125 million mega contract, has fallen from being the face of the franchise to the focus of fans’ derision, slashing just .148/.208.352 in 55 games, with 10 home runs and 21 runs batted in this season.
The Phillies began their rebuild in December of 2014 with the trade of fan favorite shortstop and former NL MVP Jimmy Rollins to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Antonio Bastardo, Marlon Byrd, Jonathan Papelbon, Cole Hamels, Ben Revere, Chase Utley, and Ken Giles were also dealt over the course of the next year, and the rebuild was in full swing.
All of this is to say, that in the span of just a month, Philadelphia has gone from being a potential buyer at the trade deadline to being in a position to further bolster its rebuilding effort by unloading veterans in exchange for additional prospects to be added to a promising young core.
Let’s take a look at who the Phillies could have on the block.
Next: The Young Core