Priority No. 1 for the Philadelphia Phillies ahead of Thursday's trade deadline is to land at least one high-leverage reliever, especially with Jose Alvarado ineligible for the postseason after his 80-game suspension for PEDs. The good news is that there are several of them available, from Jhoan Duran to Mason Miller to Ryan Helsley. The bad news is that the price might be so high that Dave Dombrowski can't possibly match it — and one of Philly's most hated rivals is at least partly to blame.
On Wednesday afternoon, the New York Mets added their second reliever of the last few days, acquiring submarining righty Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants. Given New York's obvious desire to bolster their bullpen for the stretch run, that's hardly a surprise. But what is a surprise is how much David Stearns was willing to give up to get a deal done: two of the team's top 12 prospects (righty Blade Tidwell and outfielder Drew Gilbert) plus an MLB-caliber swing arm in Jose Butto.
Mets acquiring RHP Tyler Rogers from Giants, source @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2025
Rogers is a sturdy relief option, but that's quite the haul for two months of his services. And with the Minnesota Twins and other potential sellers already setting a very high bar, the Phillies' chances of making the sort of splash they need to win a pennant may have just gone out the window.
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Phillies have no hope of major relief addition after Mets' Tyler Rogers overpay
Things were already trending that direction anyway, based on recent reports that both the A's and the Twins were demanding Philly's top prospect, righty Andrew Painter, in return for either Miller or Duran. Given Painter's upside as a starter, and the fact that his floor would figure to be the sort of lights-out reliever that Miller and Duran currently are, that wouldn't seem to make a ton of sense for Dombrowski.
And yet, that might just be what the market will bear right now. Helsley is a free agent at the end of the year; if the Cardinals don't move him, they risk losing him for nothing. But Miller and Duran can be dangled again in trade talks in a few months' time, and at next year's deadline as well. There simply isn't a lot of leverage Philly or other needy teams can exert, which means there isn't anything stopping them from asking for the moon and simply walking away if the answer is no.
To be clear, Dombrowski would be crazy to give away Painter for either player. But that doesn't change the fact that the Phillies need arms, plural, and preferably top-shelf ones to try and survive the coming NL playoff gauntlet. At this point, even a second-tier option like Danny Coulombe, Griffin Jax or Anthony Bender might command something Philly will regret giving up.