Philadelphia Phillies: Three trade targets ahead of the MLB trade deadline

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 28: A detail view of the Liberty Bell at Citizens Bank Park on August 28, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The day honoring Jackie Robinson, traditionally held on April 15, was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Phillies defeated the Braves 7-4. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

The Philadelphia Phillies should add at least one more bullpen arm.

Even though we’re just a day away from the deadline, it’s still 100% clear whether the San Francisco Giants are going to be buyers or sellers. Thanks to a recent surge of wins, the Giants may be an addition or two away from a playoff spot, but if they elect to focus on rebuilding for the long term future, they have plenty of notable pieces to move.

Reliever Tony Watson is one of those pieces. Watson hasn’t given up a run in his last eight outings (seven of which were one inning performances), and owns a 0.84 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and a .154 average against on the season.

One more number that instantly sticks out when looking at Watson’s season is his ground ball rate. Currently at 53.3%, Watson is producing a career-high ground ball rate, a 7% jump compared to his 2018 and 2019 numbers.

Like Givens, Watson isn’t going to be your ninth-inning guy, but Watson has been effective this season out of the Giants bullpen and he appears to be fully healthy from his shoulder injury.

Watson is 35 years old and would be a rental pickup for the Phillies, meaning the price tag should be much lower than that of Mychal Givens or many of the other names on this list. If the Phillies want someone who can eat more innings over the final month of the season and then slide over into the bullpen come playoff time, maybe looking at the Giants starting rotation makes a little more sense.

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