Biggest Question Mark About Philadelphia Phillies Following Deadline
There were a lot of mixed reviews for what the Philadelphia Phillies' front office did at the trade deadline.
After being linked with multiple outfielders because of their poor defense as a unit, they didn't add a single one. Instead, they pivoted to get pitching help in Michael Lorenzen and infield utility man Rodolfo Castro.
Lorenzen was one of the top pitching pieces on the market, so it's hard to fault the front office for getting one of the top available guys. However, the surprise was getting another infielder when the starting unit seems very intact.
MLB.com has been asking questions about every team following the deadline. Philadelphia fans won't be surprised to learn what the biggest question mark surrounding the team is going into the final stretch.
Will they hit?
That's the million dollar question, and in the case of the front office, the multi-million dollar question.
It seems like they're comfortable letting their current set of stars power the offense.
"President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is banking on the superstars in his lineup -- Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber -- finding their groove in the season’s final two months," writes Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki.
Philadelphia ranks 12th in the MLB with a .254 batting average, 13th with a .321 on-base percentage and 16th with a .410 slugging percentage.
Adding Castro who's hitting .162/.208/.221 over his last 30 games does not do a whole lot to ease the worry if the superstar bats don't wake up down the stretch.
