The Philadelphia Phillies aren't done making moves just yet. Despite their deadline splash on Wednesday, in which they added former Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Johan Duran, Dave Dombrowski is expected to deal for a right-handed bat by the end of the day. Many pundits expected the Phils to call the Baltimore Orioles about Ramon Laureano.
Laureano has one of the best outfield arms in the game, and has impressed offensively with the Orioles this season. He is not a world-beater by any means, and wouldn't have been the sole reason the Phillies won the pennant, if they are lucky enough to do so. So far this season, Laureano has an .884 OPS and .290 batting average. He has already accumulated almost 3.0 WAR, and was a right-handed bat like the Phils desire.
Yet, the Phils instead opted to trade for Harrison Bader.
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Did the Phillies trade for Ramon Laureano?
Phillies insider Matt Gelb also linked the team to Alex Call, as well as Luis Robert Jr. if they can afford the White Sox asking price. Yet, as Gelb noted, a minor move paired with the promotion of a top prospect could provide the same impact as Robert Jr. Rather than deal for Call, Laureano or Robert Jr., they instead opted for Bader.
"If the Phillies choose a marginal upgrade in the outfield, they could pair it with an internal move by promoting Justin Crawford to the majors. Crawford could have arrived earlier this month, but the Phillies want him to play every day if he's in the majors, so they have waited to see how the deadline unfolds," Gelb wrote at the time.
Why adding a former NL East rival made sense for Philadelphia
Adding Laureano in particular would have been interesting, as he is a former Braves outfielder. Laureano revived his career in Atlanta, and had an .832 OPS last season before signing a deal with the Orioles. Phillies columnist David Murphy believed the former NL East rival to be the best overall fit.
"Laureano figures to be at the top of a lot of team's lists, given his .887 OPS and $6.5 million club option for next season," wrote Murphy. "This offseason, nobody in the majors thought he was worth more than the one-year, $4 million contract that Baltimore gave him as a free agent. That's somewhat puzzling given that he ended last season hitting 10 home runs with an .832 OPS for the Braves, who signed him after he was released by the Guardians. Laureano has some defensive question marks and has battled injuries in his career, but he didn't come from nowhere. From 2018-21, he hit 49 home runs with an .800 OPS in 313 games for the Athletics."
Laureano is a rental, and thus his price should be lower than other outfielders on the market, such as Robert Jr. Laureano is not a move the Phillies needed to make, but one they could've surely afforded. For now, Braves fans can take a deep breath.