Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Named Landing Spot for Two Likely Trade Deadline Candidates

The Philadelphia Phillies were named a possible landing spot for two of the most popular trade deadline candidates.

Dylan Sanders

Sep 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) reacts to getting the final out against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park.
Sep 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) reacts to getting the final out against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
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The Philadelphia Phillies entered the offseason with a couple of big holes on their roster. As spring training comes to a close, there are still some question marks left.

Perhaps the Phillies could be waiting for July's MLB trade deadline to see just how big of an issue they have standing before them in the postseason.

CBS Sports' Mike Axisa expects them to be busy, as he named Philadelphia as a possible landing spot for two of the top players expected to be available.

Both are players that have been connected to the team multiple times and would still fit in very well with this roster.

The first was St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley, who has been a dominant force in the bullpen for the last few years.

Helsley has a 1.83 ERA with a 227 ERA+, 0.954 WHIP and 12.1 K/9 over his last three campaigns. That type of arm would go in any bullpen and be dominant.

The Phillies at least did bring in someone for this role this offseason in Jordan Romano. They really had to wing it last year and it didn't go great.

It did come with the emergence of Jeff Hoffman, but he swapped places with Romano and went to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Now Romano will need to get his career back on track. He had a 6.59 ERA and pitched in just 13.2 innings last season, leading to the Blue Jays moving on from him.

If he reaches the All-Star level he was at in the few years before, Philadelphia might not need to go after Helsley. The Cardinals closer is still a name to keep an eye on, though.

Moving over to the AL Central, Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. was the other player that the Phillies were named a landing spot for.

This has been a popular pairing for a while now, but it still makes sense. The outfield was a huge issue for them last year and Robert has true star potential still.

Back in just 2023, he hit 38 home runs and stole 20 bases with a .264/.315/.542 slash line.

The only player that Philadelphia added to the outfield this offseason was starting left fielder Max Kepler.

While he could end up being a fine, replacement level outfielder, Kepler isn't the game changer that the Phillies need.

Adding Robert would give them a young, impact bat in the outfield that is under team control through 2027 via team options.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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