3 Phillies MLB trade deadline mistakes Dave Dombrowski will regret

The Philadelphia Phillies were true to Dave Dombrowski's reputation at the MLB trade deadline, aggressively pursuing upgrades at key positions of need. In the end, Philadelphia acquired three immediate rotation pieces — Baltimore Orioles left fielder Austin Hays, Los Angeles Angels closer Carlos Estevez, and Chicago White Sox long reliever Tanner Banks.

Each should impact Rob Thomson's game plan to varying degrees. Hays was immediately handed a full-time role in left, while Estevez will presumably yank save opportunities away from Jose Alvarado. Banks is slightly less impressive in terms of resumé, but he torches lefty hitters and is comfortable going multiple innings in relief.

It's hard to complain about the individual moves, although Philly gave up a lot for Estevez in particular. That is the price of elite relievers. Just ask the San Diego Padres, who sold the farm to acquire Tanner Scott from the Miami Marlins. Each move addresses a key area of weakness and improves the Phillies' title odds in a wide-open National League.

The complaints are more nuanced, focused on whether or not Dombrowski went far enough with his deadline maneuvering. There were golden opportunities left on the table and roster margins left unpolished, which could come back to haunt the Phils in October.

Let's run through a few of Philadelphia's deadline missteps.

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3. Phillies didn't exactly get another leverage reliever in Tanner Banks

Carlos Estevez was a tremendous pickup for the Phillies. After suffering through the Craig Kimbrel postseason experience last October, Philadelphia didn't want to leave the door open for a repeat of history. Jose Alvarado has been in a funk lately, so Estevez sures up any lingering doubt about the closer spot. He joins two All-Star relievers in Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm, delivering Philadelphia arguably the best front-to-back pitching staff in the majors.

Still, there was room for one last upgrade to put Philadelphia over the top. There were reports of the Phillies still scouring the market for another leverage reliever. In the end, Dombrowski snuck in a small-time deal for Tanner Banks right before the final buzzer. It didn't cost much in terms of prospect capital, so it's hardly a risky move. But, Banks probably won't see much action in the playoffs. At least not when games are close.

Through 41 appearances and 48.0 innings pitched this season, Banks has a 4.13 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Not terrible, but hardly the stuff of legend. He brings decent heat and forces strikeouts (55 on the season), but Banks is essentially a platoon pitcher. He dominates lefties and gets carved up by righties. He is little more than a situational arm.

That is the case for most back-end bullpen arms, and Banks has some starting experience on his resumé. There's a chance he returns to that status down the line, but Philadelphia has no shortage of long-term starting pitching on the roster. In the end, this trade just doesn't move the needle much.

If the Phillies run into injuries that deplete the bullpen, we could look back at this as a trade where Dombrowski just didn't quite go far enough. Several quality relievers were moved on Tuesday, but none of the best went to Philadelphia.

2. Phillies did not address limited depth on offense

The Phillies' starting lineup, at full strength, is among the best in baseball. Depth has been a problem all season, though, made worse by the recent expulsion of Whit Merrifield. It's not like Merrifield didn't deserve to be waived — he's been bad this season, to be frank — but the idea of Merrifield was essential to the Phillies' game plan going into the campaign.

Merrifield was signed as a recent All-Star capable of supplying depth all over the infield and even in the outfield. He was the super-utilityman, the Phils' secret weapon. Alas, Merrifield hasn't found much success at the plate this season and he didn't mesh particularly well with the team around him. Now he's in Atlanta, and the Phils are left entirely vulnerable to injuries.

Edmundo Sosa has fared well while taking the occasional start away from Bryson Stott, but second base has been a weak point for Philadelphia of late. The outfield depth is still a problem, even after the Hays trade. Philadelphia has too many holes there, and it will only get worse if Nick Castellanos or Brandon Marsh get hit with the injury bug.

Philadelphia just doesn't have much consistent offense behind the core pieces. Sosa will be asked to plug a lot of holes in a pinch, while the development of unproven rookies and fringe rotation pieces, such as Weston Wilson, could prove consequential down the stretch. The Phillies' depth issues are not unique, but take the Braves as an example. That team would be in the dumps if not for quality (if flawed) emergency options across the board, from the pitching staff to the outfield. The Phils don't even have an Adam Duvall or an Eddie Rosario.

Another bat to sure up the reserve corps would've been a smart move from Dombrowski.

1. Phillies didn't trade for Luis Robert Jr. (or another impact outfield bat)

The Phillies should've gone for it. If not now, when? Philadelphia is the best team in baseball by a comfortable margin despite its recent slump. This team has a stellar postseason track record, save for the absence of a World Series ring. Dombrowski has a reputation of aggressive, all-out trades. He made moves to improve the roster, but he ultimately shied away from true blockbusters.

Luis Robert Jr. is the easy example. The White Sox center fielder didn't have much of a market, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. That should have lit up the Phillies' offices like the bat signal. What a great window of opportunity to strike on a former All-Star at a position of need. It would've taken a lot, right after the Phils gave up a lot for Estevez, but Robert is the sort of slugging outfield bat missing from the Phillies' almost-perfect roster.

There were other, slightly more tame options, of course. The Braves dealt for Jorge Soler. He can rake against lefties. Philadelphia is trending toward a center field platoon of Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas. The former can mash righties all day, but the wheels fall off when he's forced to hit lefties. Rojas is better in those matchups, but only by a slim margin. His .403 OPS against left-handed pitching is still disastrous.

It seems so small — a center field rotation that can't hit left-handed pitching — but the margins are what cause contenders to sink or float in the playoffs. Philadelphia can generally bank on its star power. These slumps from Bryce Harper and Trea Turner won't last forever. What the Phillies cannot do is bank on their center fielder against left-handed pitching. Hays has never been too reliable against right-handed pitching either. When viewed as a platoon bat with Marsh, Hays was a great deadline pickup. When framed as the everyday starter in left field, however, some of the shine came off.

The Phils missed an opportunity to fully eliminate a weakness and put the final touch on a great lineup. Instead, Dombrowski applied a bandaid to a gushing wound, which could lead to unforeseen issues down the line.