July 28, 2025
The MLB's trade deadline is at the end of the week and the Phillies are basically connected to everyone. That seems to happen a lot with this team.
Whether it's a reliever, a closer, an outfielder or even a third baseman, the Phillies appear to be a very flawed baseball team despite them having the fifth best record in the NL and having just two fewer wins than the team in first. A lot of players could help them.
Rumors continue to fly, and on ESPN the Phillies are being connected to a ridiculous 17 of the 30 players most likely to be traded. A handful, at most, will actually be traded to the Phillies, but it's sort of fascinating to see all the different prescriptions to solve what is holding the Phillies back from completely breaking through.
The 17 players ESPN recommends for Philly are also oddly not consistent. Eugenio Suárez, whom Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan each call the best player likely to be traded (a 90% chance), has been connected to the Phillies by a few outlets despite the fact that the team already has an everyday third baseman under team control in Alec Bohm — who is currently working back from a rib injury.
Would the Phillies trade away an infielder? Would they move Bohm to left field? Would they move Bryce Harper back to right field?
The fit isn't in the field, it's in the batter's box. Suárez' 36 homers are second most in the NL and his 87 RBI are the most. He bats from the right side and is a soon-to-be free agent. More from ESPN's latest:
Suárez is in a contract year and playing like one of the best players in baseball. Only Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge have more home runs than his 33. Despite turning 34 years old before the trade deadline, Suarez is sitting near career highs in isolated power and wRC+ (which measures overall performance). His fielding metrics have declined in recent years, but he's still an acceptable defender at third base. Even if the Diamondbacks don't offload all their free agents to be, Suarez could move because they've got Jordan Lawlar raking in Triple-A and primed to take over at third. [ESPN]
Oddly, two other right-handed third baseman in Nolan Arenado and Alex Bregman are not recommended as good targets for the Phillies.
The Phillies are also listed as "fits" for five outfielders (including Steven Kwan and Luis Robert Jr. ) and 11 relievers (including David Bednar and Emmanuel Clase).
The deadline is looming in three days and will pass at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 31.
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