Eugenio Suarez is a longshot, but would be worth the price.
Dave Dombrowski told reporters ahead of Sunday’s series-clinching 3-1 win over the Reds that the options to add offense to the outfield were not ideal.
“I think the thing you have to realize is offense is down. It’s hard to find guys to put up numbers. I mean, it just is.”
“I know that some of the names are mentioned — ‘OK, why don’t you get this guy? Why don’t you get that guy?’ — well, they’re hitting like .200 or .220,“ Dombrowski said. ”A lot of the guys that were out there in the wintertime, that’s what they’re hitting, too.”
Of course, it doesn’t have to be just outfielders. Dombrowski confirmed Bryce Harper has told him he would be willing to move back to the outfield if a true offensive upgrade is available at first base. That could also be the case if an upgrade could be found at third base, shifting Alec Bohm to first.
So, what’s out there? Let’s rank the realistic options.
The two third basemen listed, Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suarez, would solve a lot of problems for the lineup. Both are right-handed and are well above average offensive forces. Either of these players would be worth shifting players around the diamond and giving up top prospects. Both players are set to test free agency at year’s end (Bregman is likely to trigger his player opt-out), so it’s unlikely the Phillies would be willing to move Aidan Miller in a deal for either player, but Justin Crawford would almost have to be in any deal.
Both Boston and Arizona are hovering around the .500 mark, so neither is a confirmed seller, but both would be crazy not to listen to trade offers for their superstar rentals.
The oft-injured Byron Buxton has always played like a superstar when on the field. The problem has been staying on the field. That has not been an issue this season, with 73 games played already. He’s owed $45.5 million over the next three years, a reasonable price for a superstar, but only if he can stay healthier in his early 30s than he did in his 20s. That, and whether Minnesota is open to trading him, which they may not be.
Ramon Laureano is having his best overall year since 2019, but in an odd twist, has reverse splits this season. In 135 plate appearances against right-handers, he has an OPS of .937. In 70 PAs against lefties, it’s .699. His career mark against lefties is .792, against righties it’s .743, so yeah, a little weird. Baltimore holds a team option of $6.5 million for 2026, meaning any acquiring team would have an additional year of control.
Coming into Monday, the Guardians have lost 10 in a row and appear to be fading from the American League playoff picture. What better time to inquire about the availability of Steven Kwan? He’s a 6-win player and destroys right-handed pitching (.842 OPS). The issue is he struggles with left-handers (.647 OPS). Teams would continue to load up southpaws against them with Kwan in the lineup. He’s under team control through 2028, so he’s cheap and would be around for a while. He’d be an upgrade in left field no matter what-handed he is.
Wilyer Abreu has just 41 PAs against lefties this season (.678 OPS), and 241 PAs against right-handers (.849 OPS), so again, issues against left-handed pitching. But the 26-year-old has become a dynamic young player for the Sox, already clearing his career-best home run total (17) in a season where offense is down across all of baseball. He cannot become a free agent until 2030. Jarren Duran’s OPS is down 100 points from a season ago (.834 to .728) and his OPS+ is down 30 points (131 to 101). That said, he leads the AL in triples (a statistic he led them in a season ago), steals a ton of bases, and plays all three outfield positions. He’s just 28 and cannot be a free agent until after the 2029 season, so Boston should be asking a lot for him. He’s also a lefty.
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Mike Trout is a right-handed outfield bat for an Angels team that is not making the playoffs. He’s also not close to the player he used to be, and clearly not a player you want to pay $37 million a year to over the next five years. Even if the Angels pay down half of that, it’s still too high a price.
An All Star a year ago, Castro is having a better season in 2025. Castro is a switch-hitter who would help solve some of the Phillies’ issues against lefties, with a .892 OPS in 77 PAs against them this year. He’d be a sneaky-great pickup. Taylor Ward is having his best power season, but it’s coming at the expense of his batting average, at .228 coming into Monday. If he’s part of a platoon, the numbers look a little better, but not amazing: .242/.299/.516 against left-handers. Oddly, 17 of his 20 homers have come against righties. If he comes to Philly, he’s likely playing every day.
The third Twins outfielder on this list, the historically glove-first Harrison Bader, is having a solid, if unspectacular season at the dish. He’s actually doing a bit worse against lefties (.749 OPS) than righties (.759), but he’s a solid and steady overall player. The other right-hander of note is Adolis Garcia, whose 2023 postseason heroics are legendary. However, he’s failed to come close to those heights over the last two years. His .569 OPS against left-handers leaves much to be desired, but there is intriguing upside there.
There’s been much speculation about Cedric Mullins, but I’m not up for a left-handed hitting outfielder with pop and a negative WAR. Ryan McMahon is a left-handed hitting third baseman that almost certainly will get traded, but the Phillies shouldn’t have any interest.
Two Pirates outfielders having disappointing seasons make this list, as Pittsburgh will certainly listen on almost everyone. In any other season, Bryan Reynolds would have been an ideal fit in center field, but he is in the midst of a dreadful season. The Phillies would have to believe there is some kind of bounce back coming for them to give up top prospects for a below replacement-level player. I highly doubt the Pirates are ready to give up on Oneil Cruz, but he has not taken the kinds of steps forward Elly de la Cruz has over the last couple years. He makes a lot of mistakes in the field and strikes out a ton, but there’s no doubt an incredible baseball player that oozes power lives inside him somewhere.
Then, there is Luis Robert, Jr. Thousands of words have been written about him in Phillies blogs over the last year, and Robert, Jr. continues to play worse and worse. The only way it makes sense for the Phils is if Chicago is giving him away for pennies on the dollar, and they could be doing just that. There is a ton of talent in Robert, Jr., and the hope would be getting out of baseball’s death valley would improve his game.