The Philadelphia Phillies hit their lowest point this season at the end of April, 19 games below .500. Now, they are three games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
With the MLB trade deadline less than a month away, the Phillies are favorited to add Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal to bolster their already dominant starting pitching staff.
An MLB insider shares that the Phillies’ aggressive shopping style gives them a shot against the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees to bid for the lefty.
Getty
Jon Heyman Says Philadelphia Phillies Have the Money to Spend For Tarik Skubal
MLB Insider Jon Heyman joined MLB Network on Monday morning to discuss the trade landing spots for Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal. He first explains that any team that is currently a postseason contender with money to spend is in it for Skbal.
“I think anybody who is contender with money to spend is going to be in on Tarik Skubal,” Heyman said. “He was here last week with the Tigers and threw a great game against the Yankees… he knows there’s a good chance he will traded, even if they are back in the race.”
The Tigers are currently second place in the AL Central behind the Chicago White Sox with a record of 47-44.
“I’m going to throw in the Phillies there,” Heyman said. “We’ve heard their name a little bit, but obviously they have been looking for a number of different things, but we know that they have talked more about starting pitching… to beat the Dodgers, you’ve got to have left-handers.”
“They’ve got Sánchez and Luzardo, you add Skubal to that, you’ve got a pretty good trio of left-handers,” Heyman explained.
The Phillies pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts with 873 and has a team ERA of 4.20.
Cristopher Sánchez has the 10th best ERA of qualified pitchers, and is tied for second in strikeouts with Dylan Cease.
Getty
Cristopher Sánchez Has Worst Outing of the Season vs. Royals
After losing 5-2 yesterday against the Kansas City Royals, the Phillies were looking to bounce back with their ace on the mound on Monday.
However, in just one inning, the Royals tacked six runs on Cristopher Sánchez. Through four innings, he allowed nine runs.
Phillies beat writer Jeff Kerr, explained that the Phillies should let Sánchez eat as many innings as he can without using vital bullpen arms.
“The #Phillies just have to have Cristopher Sánchez eat innings at this point,” Kerr wrote on X. “Bullpen depth is already an issue and no reason to use the high-leverage guys today. Have six games to end the week before All-Star Break. This is a classic take the L and get out.”
Sánchez was pulled in the fourth inning. His final line was nine earned runs, one strikeout, one walk, and 12 hits against the Royals.
The 2026 All-Star game in Philadelphia is eight days away, and Sánchez is a likely contender to be a starter for the first All-Star appearance of his career.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post MLB Insider Reveals Phillies As Potential Landing Spot For Tarik Skubal appeared first on HEAVY.