The Phillies have made early inquiries about trading a back-of-the-rotation starter or pitcher, Charlotte Varnes and Matt Gelb of The Athletic report. The back half of Philadelphia’s rotation has been a problem all season, culminating in today’s move to demote the rookie righty. Andrew Painter to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The top half of Philadelphia’s circulation is very good. Christopher Sánchez he is arguably the best pitcher in the National League. Zack Wheeler made a remarkable comeback from thoracic outlet surgery, posting a 2.01 ERA while averaging over six innings over his 10 starts. Jesus Luzardo it exploded again after being blown up several times in April.
Aaron Nola he’s stuck in the fourth rotation by default, but he’s holding an ERA around 6.00 for the second year in a row. Nola has also hit a homer in the back half of his career. The final rotation area now seems wide open. Alan Rangel again Jean Cabrera they are the only other healthy starters on the 40-man roster.
Rangel has six games of MLB experience, all out of the bullpen. He has a 3.74 ERA with a solid strikeout and walk mark in 65 frames at Triple-A this year, but only completed five innings in one of his final minor league seasons. Cabrera has an ERA north of 9.00 in Double-A and Triple-A. Minor league signees Tucker Davidson again Bryse Wilson they had poor numbers in the Lehigh Valley.
It’s understandable that the Phils would want to gauge the market and see if there are any viable starters to fall back on. Actually making a move is easier said than done before the deadline. The Rockies are the only team more than 10 games out of a playoff spot.
Colorado can listen to any starter, but their entire rotation is heavily impacted. An old friend Michael Lorenzen has an ERA over 7.00. Tomoyuki Sugano he had a good ERA at the beginning of the year but bad grades. Ryan Feltner he has pitched well in his last three outings and is a highly desirable trade target in the Rox rotation. He is eligible for compensation for two more seasons after this one and the Phillies would have to part with the mid-tier.
Antonio Senzatela got a new gear working in the bullpen for the Rox. The winning team could try to extend him in the middle of the season, but that would be a slow process over several weeks. Sennzatela could also end up being Colorado’s last chip at the deadline, so they may prefer to hold onto him until the end of July to try to get more leverage from teams looking for bullpen help.
The Angels, Royals, Giants, Tigers and Red Sox are all double-digit games under .500 and trending toward sales. Those teams don’t have very expensive back-ends. There is no shortage of big name trade candidates (eg Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Sonny Gray, Reid Detmers, José Soriano, Robbie Ray), however they probably won’t be found seriously until close to the deadline if they exist.
Drew Andersonwho began his MLB career in Philadelphia almost a decade ago, is having a great year in long relief for Detroit. They can trade him but have a $10MM club option if they want to keep him around through 2027.
Philadelphia won’t need much to do Hosted by Adrian Houser two-year, $22MM contract. Tyler Mahle he is being leased for a $10MM salary and is already available, but has an ERA over 6.00 due to a high home run rate. Mahle is also on the injured list due to a pulled muscle on the left side; he made a rehab start yesterday and should be back on the MLB roster in a week or two. The Nationals have a couple of starts (Brad Lord, Mitchell Parker) to breathe for a long time. Incoming free agent David Peterson he had a miserable year with the Mets and is a clear candidate for a scene change.
The most likely outcome is for the Phillies to monitor the DFA market for the next month until the trade season actually begins and put some middle names on the market. Randy Dobnak again Connor Seabold they are among the deep arm who changed teams this week.
The current state of Triple-A pitching is bleak. Miami kept the lefty Braxton Garrett in the minors for most of the season. Cardinals non-roster lefty Bruce Zimmermann pitched well at Triple-A for the second straight year outside of the rotation in St. Louis. Carlos Carrasco managed decent results while bouncing in and out of the Braves’ lineup throughout the year. The Phillies (or any other team) could break that cycle by making a claim the next time Atlanta drafts him, but they’ve already passed on plenty of opportunities to do so.
