Insider Believes Philadelphia Phillies Can 'Tempt' White Sox to Trade Star Slugger

With the Philadelphia Phillies looking for upgrades at the deadline, one insider believes they can land one of the best hitters on the market if they deal some of their star prospects.

Jul 5, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) looks on against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at loanDepot Park / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

What are the Philadelphia Phillies going to do ahead of the trade deadline?

That's been the questions fans have wondered for a long time this season as they emerged as the best team in baseball and clear championship contenders.

Speculation has surrounded what Dave Dombrowski and his front office are going to do ahead of July 30 when they can no longer make deals with other teams to improve their roster. Outfield and bullpen upgrades have continually been discussed, but differing reports make it hard to pin down exactly who and what the Phillies are looking to acquire.

For a long time they were linked to star slugger Luis Robert Jr.

His prolific hitting and defense in center field would make this lineup look virtually unbeatable on paper, giving everyone a dream scenario when putting together trade ideas. But when dealing with things in the real world, practicality becomes the most important factor, and the Chicago White Sox's high asking price for all of their players seemingly made Philadelphia look elsewhere.

Coming down to crunch time, though, the White Sox could be softening their selling point as they try to maximize what they get in return.

Because of that, Jeff Passan of ESPN thinks the Phillies could come back to the table and land the star slugger for their World Series run and beyond.

"... there is no better fit than Philadelphia and Robert. The one thing the Phillies lack is an impact center fielder, and they've got the prospects to tempt Chicago," he writes.

How much Dombrowski is willing to give up is the question mark.

In the past, the veteran executive has thrown caution to the wind when it comes to trading away prospects in pursuit of a championship, but when the organization put a focus on rebuilding their pipeline and emphasized the development of homegrown talent, he might not be willing to give up someone like Aidan Miller to get this done.

Passan thinks the Phillies will add "within reason" and says they "might not be terribly busy" compared to expectations.

That seemingly suggests they won't get the blockbuster deal done for Robert like many want to see.

"Philadelphia could make depth trades to protect in case of injury, and if talks for Robert go nowhere, they could consider grabbing a corner outfielder and sliding Brandon Marsh to center, where he has played 22 games this season," the insider adds.

Based on many of the reports leading up to this point, it seems like a reserved deadline is going to be the way Philadelphia operates barring a gift from opposing teams to land a star player without giving up a lot.

Because of how this market is setting up, that is highly unlikely.

Still, if the Phillies want to add someone like Robert, Passan thinks Chicago will bite on a package of prospects Philadelphia can put together to get this done.

How aggressive they're willing to be in the next week will be seen.