After a slow start to the 2026 season and a managerial firing, the Philadelphia Phillies seem to have gotten their feet under them. Still, they are 9.0 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and could use some help in the playoff race.
Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski has a reputation for trading away the farm system to win now. On top of that, he may sense that the window is closing a bit in Philadelphia, as core pieces are beginning to age out. So, it’s a safe bet that the Phillies will want to be buyers at the deadline.
But what key pieces do the Phillies have to trade? Paul Casella of MLB.com thinks that their best deadline trade chip is likely going to be top pitching prospect Gage Wood.
“The Phillies don’t want to trade Wood, their No. 2 prospect, and in a perfect world, he may be in a spot to impact the big league bullpen as soon as later this season,” Casella wrote. “However, if the Phils get to a point where they decide they need to make a substantial splash at the Deadline, they’d almost certainly have to include Wood in any trade package. Top prospect Aidan Miller will be sidelined until right around the Deadline with his back injury, and none of the Phillies’ other top-five prospects are making much noise in the Minors. The club doesn’t have a ton of flexibility to make a big move … unless Wood is involved.”
At 22 years old, Gage Wood has been with the Phillies since 2025, when the Phillies used their first-round pick on him. He had previously played his college baseball at Arkansas, where he threw a no-hitter in the 2025 College World Series, striking out 19 in that win. He’s currently pitching for the Single-A Clearwater Threshers, and has a 3.42 ER and 13.7 strikeouts per nine in 8 starts at that level.
The Philadelphia Phillies Need a Right-Handed Bat, Outfield Help
GettyPhiladelphia Phillies 3B Alec Bohm
If there has been a strength for the Philadelphia Phillies this season, it’s been the starting pitching. That gives them some comfort moving on from Gage Wood. It would also help them address their major issues, which come on the offensive side of the ball. Primarily, the outfield and right-handed power hitting.
There has been a general power outage from the Phillies on the right side of the plate. Adolis García, the team’s major addition this offseason, has struggled, hitting .200 with a .612 OPS, and that’s even with García hitting home runs in three of the last five games.
Longer tenured Phillies like Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto, Trea Turner, and Edmundo Sosa have also struggled at the plate, too. All of them will need to play better this season, but Dombrowski will also want to add some supplemental health there just in case.
As such, the Phillies have been tied to multiple potential players on the move this season. That includes Heliot Ramos rumors, Taylor Ward, who is known for his power hitting, and even future Hall of Famer Mike Trout has been connected to the Phillies.
Former Top Phillies Pitching Prospect Andrew Painter is Struggling
GettyPhiladelphia Phillies SP Andrew Painter
If there has been a weakness for the Phillies in their rotation, it’s that previous top pitching prospect Andrew Painter has struggled in his transition to MLB this season.
Painter has a 6.21 ERA in 58 innings pitched and 11 starts in 12 games. He’s also given up 11 home runs and walked 19 batters. That’s contributed to his 1.569 WHIP and 7.3 strikeouts per nine. Clearly, something has to change, and Painter knows that.
“You know, I made a couple of adjustments. I made some bad pitches out there in the third to give up homers, but I kinda just have to dig deep and go at guys, be aggressive in the zone,” Painter said. “It wasn’t a whole lot of hard contact. A couple of bloops here and there. But, you know, outside of the homers, but just got to be more aggressive.”
Painter will be looking to bounce back from a six earned run performance his last time out against the Chicago White Sox. It was his second game in a row allowing two home runs.
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