A Phillies-Giants trade to bring a slumping All-Star to the Philadelphia bullpen

The Philadelphia Phillies have been incredible this season, putting them in a perfect position to come out of the National League on top if they take care of business in the coming weeks before the trade deadline.

Obviously, the Phillies will be in the market for a right-handed outfielder and depth pieces. That's well documented news at this point. But, in terms of pitchers, they need to upgrade there as well. That sounds shocking to say considering the Phillies just set an All-Star Game record by having five pitchers selected to the team, but they could still use help towards the bottom of their depth chart.

And the San Francisco Giants have the perfect answer to their prayers -- closer Camilo Doval.

MLB insider Bob Nightengale noted that if the Giants aren't contenders in the next two weeks, they could look to sell.

"If the San Francisco Giants sell at the trade deadline, teams will pounce on 27-year-old closer Camilo Doval, despite his struggles," Nightengale wrote.

Doval and his triple digit cutter would fit in well with Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and the rest of the Phillies bullpen.

A Phillies-Giants trade if San Francisco opts to sell

Doval, 27, hasn't been great this year. His WHIP is up over 1.60 and his ERA is north of 4.00. He's getting hit harder than in the past while walking more than he's used to. Yet, his FIP is still in the mid 3.00s, meaning he should see some ERA regression in the future.

Still, he was an All-Star last season and he's attached to a contract that has three additonal years of team control on it. If the Giants opt to sell him now, the Phillies and the rest of the league needs to jump on this idea before his value shoots back up.

Typically, a reliever wouldn't net a return of two top-15 prospects. But Doval isn't the typical reliever that you would see moved ahead of the deadline. He has way more team control than the usual rental relievers that are dealt in most cases.

De La Cruz and McGowan are two prospects that are knocking on the door of the big leagues, both being on the older, more developed side of prospect status.

De La Cruz is slashing .263/.333/.423 in 2024 across two levels of the minor leagues. He has the potential to be a great player because of his size (6-8) and his incredible physical gifts. McGowan has only thrown 14.1 innings this season, where he's shown some command issues, but overall, runs aren't scoring on him. He might project as a reliever long term, but his stuff is good enough to compete at the Double-A or Triple-A level right now.

Adding Doval would turn a good bullpen into a great one. It would let the Phillies begin to shorten games even further, taking more stress off their lineup and starting rotation.