The Philadelphia Phillies are undeniably a good team, but it's hard to envision this roster reaching the mountaintop without a few key upgrades. Dave Dombrowski built his reputation around aggressive maneuvers in the front office, but the Phillies have been uncharacteristically gun-shy at recent trade deadlines. Fans are wondering if the former World Series-winning exec has lost his fastball.
Well, things might be different this time around. The window is closing on this era of Phillies baseball. Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and pretty much the entire core are well into their 30s. Zack Wheeler is going to retire after 2027. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia's best hitter this season, is a free agent in a few months.
It's time for the Phillies to go all-in. And, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, it appears that Philadelphia is signaling a willingness to buy aggressively in the coming weeks.
"The Phillies, for now, sound more willing to trade bigger prospect chips for controllable big leaguers, especially a shutdown, late-inning reliever," Gelb writes. "The Phillies have a top-heavy farm system; major-league sources said initial indications are the Phillies want to shop this July in a more expensive aisle than the rental one. They have the prospects to do it."
One popular hypothetical getting thrown around? A trade for Steven Kwan and Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians. With the Guards looking ready to sell, could Philly mount the prospect package necessary to add two impact pieces at key positions of need?
Here's how it might work out...
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This Phillies-Guardians trade sends Steven Kwan, Emmanuel Clase to Philly
Teams | Trade Hauls |
|---|---|
Phillies Receive: | RHP Emmanuel Clase, OF Steven Kwan |
Guardians Receive: | RHP Mick Abel (No. 5 Prospect), 2B Aroon Escobar (No. 6 Prospect), OF Gabriel Rincones Jr. (No. 11 Prospect) |
This feels like a strong starting point, at the very least. The Phillies aren't going to touch their No. 1 prospect, Andrew Painter, but otherwise everything is on the table. Philadelphia will probably try its best to keep the likes of Aidan Miller or Justin Crawford out of negotiations, but Cleveland won't trade two controllable stars without a fight. So if either team budges from the price laid out above, it will be Philadelphia.
That said, this feels like an acceptable return for Cleveland. Mick Abel looks MLB-ready at 23 years old, with a 5.04 ERA and 1.36 WHIP through five starts in a Phillies uniform. He cooled off rapidly after a blistering start, but even with his recent demotion to Triple-A, Abel feels like a building-block figure in the rotation. Philly needs pitching depth less than Cleveland; Abel should be an MLB regular within the next couple years.
In addition to Abel, a potential All-Star starter down the road, the Guardians get a couple young position players in Aroon Escobar, 20, and Gabriel Rincones Jr., 24. Escobar has been tearing it up in High-A ball and rapidly rising up the ranks in Philadelphia's farm system. Rincones is closer to his MLB debut, potentially giving the Guards a replacement for Kwan in the outfield in the near future.
Clase is under contract through 2028, with back-to-back club options worth $10 million in 2027 and '28. Kwan is arbitration eligible through 2027. That gives Philadelphia a long runway for success with two stars in their prime. This has not been Clase's best individual campaign, but he's still a significant upgrade over the Phillies' current late-relief options. Kwan is exactly what Philly needs in the outfield — a high-level defender and a disciplined hitter who doesn't overextend.