Phillies: 3 trades to make to salvage this season

Philadelphia Phillies: There are three trades they can make to salvage their 2022 season

Something has to change for the Philadelphia Phillies. They have a record of 21-29 and are in third place in the NL East, 12.5 games back of the New York Mets for first place.

There are a lot of bad or mediocre traits about the team but there are three trades that they could make to salvage their 2022 season.

Or, ya know, they could give it the ol’ college try.

Phillies rumors: Trade for Oakland A’s starter Frankie Montas

Oakland A’s starting pitcher Frankie Montas will almost certainly be traded before the trade deadline this season since he is a free agent after the 2023 season and he’d be a good fit for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The current Phillies starters have an ERA of 3.94, with is tied for 13th in the sport.

In 2022, Montas has made 11 starts and he has a 3.20 ERA (113 ERA+). He is allowing less than a baserunner per inning (0.99 WHIP), walking just 2.1 batters per nine innings, and striking out 9.9 batters per nine innings.

He came in sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting last season after he had a 3.37 ERA in 32 starts with a similar WHIP, walk rate, and strikeout rate.

By adding Montas, the Phillies could alleviate two problems: Address their starting rotation and fix their bullpen.

Ranger Suárez has not been great in the rotation (4.69 ERA in 10 starts) but he was a better reliever than he was a starter in 2021 (1.10 ERA in 27 relief appearances). He could move the bullpen, which needs some help too.

Phillies rumors: Trade for David Bednar

It would take a lot to get him since he isn’t a free agent for five more years but the Phillies could really use Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar.

In 21 appearances this year, he has a 1.38 ERA with nine saves. He has a 0.808 WHIP with an average of just 1.7 walks compared to 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

In 2021, he made 61 appearances for the Pirates and had a 2.23 ERA with a low walk rate and high strikeout rate.

He could also be their closer of the future since Corey Knebel has a) blown a few saves already this season and b) is a free agent at the end of the season, among a number of other Phillies players.

Phillies rumors: Trade for Ian Happ

Defense has been a glaring weakness for the Phillies in 2022 and in recent years, in general. Chicago Cubs outfielder/infielder Ian Happ could help that but also help offensively.

In 2022, Happ has hit .250/.360/.410 with five homers, 26 RBI, and eight doubles. He also has an OPS+ of 118. He has only played left and center field for the Cubs this season but that is full for the Phillies. After all, they spent a lot of money on two big free agent outfielders (Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos) this past offseason.

Happ has had a lot of time playing the infield, though. He has played second base the most and third base some as well.

So Happ could play second base and the Phillies could move Jean Segura to shortstop or Happ could play third base. The Phillies are 21st in third base offensive production with a wRC+ of 89 this season.

Happ would also help the team get on base more with that .360 on-base percentage. Their team on-base percentage is .310, or 11th in the National League.

Defensively, Happ has 4 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), which is more than double that of any current Phillies player this season. For comparison, their primary left fielder Kyle Schwarber has -3 DRS, their primary right fielder Nick Castellanos has -9 DRS, and primary third baseman Alec Bohm has -9 DRS.