The Philadelphia Phillies were active in the final hours of the 2022 MLB trade deadline, acquiring outfielder Brandon Marsh from the Los Angeles Angels and reliever David Robertson from the Chicago Cubs.
MLB trade deadline: Philadelphia Phillies shore up holes in outfield, bullpen in trades with Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs
The 24-year-old Marsh comes to the Philadelphia Phillies with a slash line of .226/.284/.353 in his second MLB season. Selected by the Angels in the second round of the 2016 MLB draft, Marsh is not scheduled to become a free agent until the 2028 season.
Marsh has played both left field and center field this season for the Angels, and will likely provide a boost for Philadelphia in center field, a position where the Phillies rank 28th out of MLB’s 30 teams with a combined minus-1.4 bWAR. Five different outfielders have spent time in center field for the Phillies this season, and none has provided a consistent answer.
One of those “answers” was Odúbel Herrera, who was designated for assignment on Tuesday afternoon.
To acquire Marsh and all of his remaining years of club control, the Phillies traded their top catching prospect (and third-ranked overall prospect), Logan O’Hoppe, who hit 15 home runs and drove in 45 in 262 at-bats for Philadelphia’s Double-A team this season.
Additionally, Philadelphia picked up Robertson, one of the most coveted relievers available at the MLB trade deadline. The 37-year-old right-hander has a 2.23 ERA/3.51 FIP/1.041 WHIP in 40.1 innings covering 36 appearances this season for the Cubs.
Robertson has pitched in 33 postseason games during his 14-year career, with 30 of those coming as a member of the New York Yankees. Robertson pitched in two games of the 2009 World Series against the Phillies, throwing a combined 2.1 innings of shutout baseball.
In order to acquire Robertson, the Phillies sent right-hander Ben Brown to the Cubs. Brown was Philadelphia’s 26th-ranked prospect and had started in 15 of his 16 appearances this season. He had just been promoted to Double-A from High-A Jersey Shore where he posted a 3.08 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over 73.0 innings.
As part of Robertson joining the Phillies, right-hander Jeurys Familia was designated for assignment.
We will have more on this trade as it develops.