Phillies lineup with Bryce Harper back still isn't good enough for October

The Philadelphia Phillies officially welcomed Bryce Harper back to the lineup for Monday's showdown with the San Diego Padres. Harper, dealing with wrist inflammation, has not appeared in a game since June 5. The Phillies held up well enough in his absence, but Harper is a perennial All-Star and one of the best hitters in MLB. His return will help. A lot.

That said, it does not plug every hole for the Phillies. And, more worrisome yet, it does not sound like Harper is feeling 100 percent confident in his wrist. He told reporters he is at a "standstill" when it comes to the wrist feeling better and that he will need to manage the pain moving forward, which could mean scheduled nights off.

If Harper is going to sporadically miss games, that leaves a serious need for options at first base. Otto Kemp has swung the bat reasonably well since his call-up, so that helps. But even so, there are weak points in this Phillies lineup that stretch well beyond Harper's powers of salvation. Unless he moves back to the outfield (ain't happening), Dave Dombrowski and the front office will need to operate aggressively in pursuit of upgrades ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.

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Bryce Harper's return helps Phillies level up, but they need more

Philadelphia still needs help in the outfield. Desperately. There has long been a strong case for bumping Trea Turner to center field or Harper to right field, but it's clear neither will happen unless Philadelphia can pull a superstar first baseman out of a hat and force Harper's hand. Turner in center feels like the perfect way to maximize his speed while mitigating the deteriorating consistency of his glove, but alas, he's on a $300 million contract and can self-determine.

Max Kepler has largely underperformed his contract and taken to complaining about days off. Brandon Marsh is swinging the bat better than he was in April, but he still boasts a sub-.700 OPS and virtually zero utility against left-handed hitters. Philadelphia's other centerfield option is Johan Rojas, who is somehow the worst of all at the plate.

There's a pretty strong case for putting Kemp in left now that Harper is back and seeing if the 26-year-old can slug his way to relevance in a full-time role. Philadelphia can also call up top prospect Justin Crawford, whose special ability to hit for contact could overshadow deeper concerns about his lack of power.

What the Phillies really need, however, is an aggressive trade. A real all-in move. Dombrowski's most recent trade deadlines were a masterclass in doing the bare minimum. He will pinpoint a need and then kinda-sorta addresses it with, like, the fourth-best available player at that position. The Phillies need more than an Austin Hays rental this time around. For years, Dombrowski's reputation was built on big, bold swings for star power. That's the energy Philadelphia needs right now. A major outfield bat would go a long way for this team.