At the top of the Philadelphia Phillies rotation, they’re as good as anyone in MLB. However, there are some clear depth concerns there that President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski is expected to address at the Trade Deadline.
While making an appearance on Just Baseball, Buster Olney addressed that need at starting pitcher. There, he explained that it’s safe to bet that the Phillies will add depth to their rotation. Beyond that, though, they could also be one of the key teams in on Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.
“They’ll both get starting pitchers… the Phillies are looking for a backend of the rotation type guy, but you know Dombrowski, he’ll probably be involved in the conversations that happen about Skubal,” Olney said.
Skubal is the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner. Now, in the last year of his contract and on a struggling Detroit Tigers team, it seems more a matter of who they trade him to, rather than if they’ll trade him.
Still, finding the right price for Skubal is going to be difficult. He is a rental player, after all, and the expectation is he’ll go to free agency rather than sign a quick contract extension. On top of that, he had elbow surgery in the middle of this season. He’s back on the mound and coming off a 2-hit and 1-earned run effort. At the same time, both of those are going to hurt his value in the eyes of many teams.
A Potential Snag for the Detroit Tigers Trading Tarik Skubal
GettyDetroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal
For some time, the conventional wisdom has been that the Detroit Tigers need to get something out of Tarik Skubal at the Trade Deadline. After all, he’s bound to walk in free agency. and it has looked like the Tigers aren’t competitive.
Except, there is a snag. What if the Tigers get back in it before the Trade Deadline? At 38-49, they’re only 6.0 games out of the Wild Card. With another strong run of play before the deadline on August 3rd, there’s no reason why it may not make sense to hold onto Skubal for one final playoff push in a weak American League.
“There’s only one problem with that, really,” Mike Petriello said. “What if the Tigers already are playing better baseball — and the idea of a trade isn’t such as much of a given as it may seem? After all, the Tigers have quietly gotten things back on the right track in June.”
At the same time, Detroit is still 11 games under .500. The Tigers don’t look like a playoff team and they’ll still likely trade Skubal.
Other Needs at the Trade Deadline for the Philadelphia Phillies
GettyPhiladelphia Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski
The Philadelphia Phillies are still in a championship window. However, with key players like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Zack Wheeler, and J.T. Realmuto aging, that window may be closing soon. So, the time to strike is now.
There’s a problem, though. The Phillies have some obvious needs to fix at the Trade Deadline.
Right-handed hitting has been an issue for the Phillies this season. In particular, a lack of power from that side. Then, there are also questions in the outfield to answer. That’s before considering starting pitching depth and the bullpen.
Diving into that recently, Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic shared some insight into those needs.
“It would be unsurprising if the Phillies upgraded in the outfield — maybe in right, where they have played a mix of Gabriel Rincones Jr., Brandon Marsh and Derek Hill after Adolis Garcia’s season-ending lat injury, Varnes wrote. “And, while Alan Rangel is getting some run as the Phillies’ fifth starter, don’t rule out the acquisition of a swingman or fifth starter type.”
Dave Dombrowski has developed a reputation for emptying the farm system to make his playoff runs over the years. It’s beginning to feel more important than ever to do that again this season and fill those gaps quickly.
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