The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the best teams in baseball this season, but they have some flaws they need to address at the trade deadline.
President of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, revealed how the Phillies will approach the trade deadline and what positions they will target, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Scott Lauber. From the outside looking in, the Phillies need bullpen help and a reliable outfield bat.
"Well, it’s not going to be the starting rotation, and our lineup doesn’t have an abundance of places that are a hole," Dombrowski said when asked if the bullpen would be an area of focus. "So, I think almost by process of elimination, [the bullpen] would be the area we would address most openly."
The Phillies' bullpen has a 4.35 ERA, which is the eighth-worst in baseball. Their closer, José Alvarado, was suspended and will be ineligible for the postseason. While the Phillies will need a reliable closer, Dombrowski mentioned how their starting rotation could turn into a bullpen strength in October.
"I do look at the bullpen (needs) differently," Dombrowski said. "Because if we’re fortunate enough to get to the postseason, our bullpen is going to get some major additions to it because our starting pitching is very deep."
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With a rotation that features Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, Ranger Suárez, Christopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola, the Phillies could use Mick Abel and Andrew Painter in the bullpen if there are no spots in the rotation. Regardless of how the Phillies look at it, Dombrowski made it clear that the bullpen could be a point of emphasis.
The Phillies are not going to make a trade just for the sake of doing it. They will want to add a player who can actually contribute to them winning this year. Dombrowski pointed out that Marsh "has been performing very well" and Kepler is "close to a 20-home run pace and playing good defense," according to Lauber, so they may not actually view the outfield as a pressing need.