Philadelphia Phillies Searching for This Specific Need at Trade Deadline

The Philadelphia Phillies are searching for one specific upgrade ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

May 26, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies are heading towards the MLB trade deadline as currently the best team in baseball. With that in mind, there will be plenty of opportunity to improve even more.

Looking ahead at the deadline, there are a couple of needs the Phillies should try to address.

Those two needs are adding more help for the bullpen and acquiring another impact outfielder. When it comes to the outfield need, it sounds like Philadelphia has a specific direction they want to pursue.

According to a report from Matt Gelb of The Athletic, the Phillies are looking for a right-handed hitter to their outfield rotation.

Philadelphia's search for an outfielder has been well documented for quite some time now. The front office may not make a massive blockbuster trade for an outfielder, but there are plenty of trade targets that they could pursue.

Among the potential right-handed outfielders that could be pursued are Luis Robert Jr., Tommy Pham, Kevin Pillar, and Miguel Andujar.

Obviously, when looking at this list, Robert would be the best possible option. However, it has been reported that the Phillies have pulled out of the running to acquire Robert in a trade.

Whether Philadelphia makes a big move or not, they're already a top-notch World Series contender. They do not have to make any move.

If they had to prioritize what they need the most, the Phillies should focus on an impact bullpen arm. A name like Tanner Scott would be the best target for them in a trade. Their offense is already lethal, but the bullpen could absolutely use some help.

There are going to be a lot of rumors and speculation coming out over the next couple of weeks. It seems likely that Philadelphia will be involved in a lot of those rumors.

Expect to see them look very extensively at the outfield trade market. The front office has been wanting to make that kind of move for awhile and now it sounds like right-handed hitting is another specific desire that they have in their quest for an outfielder.

Don't be surprised if they pull off a few moves at the deadline. The Phillies are widely expected to be one of the busiest teams on the trade market.