The Philadelphia Phillies, over the month of August, have been one of the hottest teams in baseball as they look to continue to create space between the rest of the National League in the Wild Card race. Could Dave Dombrowski look to add some pieces from the waiver wire if he gets the chance?
What the Philadelphia Phillies could do to boost the roster
When it comes to the current construction of the Philadelphia Phillies roster, a power bat off the bench or a few arms for the bullpen would always be welcomed, especially going into the playoffs where pitching was a weakness last season. While I believe the pitching staff has been better this season compared to last, there are still a few question marks in the bullpen.
While teams can put in claims on the waivers, it will go from the worst record to the best. So, currently, this is how the league will accept any teams putting in claims: Oakland A’s, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels, Cleveland Guardians, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves
The Phillies would have to wait for 20+ teams to have an opportunity to put claims in, but if some could fall to the Phillies, they could be big helps as rentals for the rest of the season.
As the Los Angeles Angels are looking to shed some salary at to attempt to make a push to re-sign Shohei Ohtani at the end of the season. Hunter Renfroe is one of the multiple players being waived by the Angels.
Hunter Renfroe
Renfroe could be the right-handed power bat off the bench that the Phillies were searching for at the deadline. With Rhys Hoskins still on the injured list and questions about when his return could be, adding Renfroe for the season could alleviate some of the pressure on Hoskins if and when he returns.
While Renfroe is having a down year across the board, a change of scenery could potentially revive his power. Renfroe is currently slashing .300/.422/.722 with 108 hits and 18 home runs with a .237 batting average. While the Phillies wouldn’t necessarily need Renfroe to play the outfield with an already crowded rotation of Nick Castellanos, Johan Rojas, Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh and Jake Cave, he could DH and play first on Harper’s off days.
Again, this all depends on whether or not the Phillies believe Rhys Hoskins can return and be productive for this roster and team.
Lucas Giolito
Talk about a whirlwind of events for Lucas Giolito, being traded from Chicago to Los Angeles only to be waived after pitching six games for the Angels. While Giolito is having a better season, his numbers have inflated since coming to the Angels.
Before coming to the Angels, Giolito was 6-6 with an ERA of 3.79 in 21 games. Giolito also struck out 131 batters while giving up 42 walks, 20 home runs, 51 earned runs and a WHIP of 1.223. After the trade, Giolito has gone 1-5 in his six starts. Giolito has an ERA of 6.89 with 10 home runs and 25 earned runs.
Giolito could allow Sanchez to return to the bullpen, giving the Phillies an extremely reliable pitcher in the bullpen. Having him, Suarez, Lorenzen and Sanchez in the bullpen for the playoffs could help solve the issues the Phillies had last season where their pitching staff was overused.
Matt Moore
While Matt Moore already had a stint in Philadelphia a few years ago (and it wasn’t a very good one), Moore has since turned his career around and has had two great seasons. One in Texas last season and has been extremely reliable on a bad Angels team this season. Another bullpen arm could do well for this team with question marks.
Moore has been great this season, boasting an ERA of 2.30 in 43 IP. What is really impressive is that he has only given up five home runs this season and 11 earned runs. With a better defense behind him and being put in good situations, we might see Moore dominate even more so.
Moore uses a four-seam fastball, changeup and curveball. His chase rate is in the 94th percentile, which is great. Moore would be another rental that was brought in for nothing but could help change the bullpen and give some of the big arms some rest.
Mike Clevinger
Talk about a guy who has just had injury problems for a majority of his career. Clevinger has been a good four or five starter for teams and could be in a similar situation as Giolito for the Phillies. Clevinger also has a team option for next season which the Phillies could use to get something for nothing if they choose to move him next season.
This season with the White Sox, Clevinger is 6-6 in 18 starts. Clevinger is boasting a 3.32 ERA in 97.2 innings pitched. Only giving up 11 home runs this season and 36 earned runs. Clevinger has 85 strikeouts and given up 38 walks.
Clevinger is a risk with his injury history. However, if he can stay healthy, he could be a huge addition to this pitching staff as well.
Again, the Phillies could obtain any of these players through the waiver wire … but they would have to get lucky and hope the teams ahead of them pass on claiming them.