Phillies Could Be Team Most Negatively Affected by Lack of Deadline Sellers

Ahead of the trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies could find themselves unable to make the requisite upgrades they need for a World Series run.

Apr 10, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski before game against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies have reached the 50-win mark in the fourth-fewest amount of games in franchise history, marking another special feat this team has accomplished this year.

Their continued success in the regular season is something everyone was hoping for in 2024, but the entire organization has their sights set on something more.

After coming up short the past two years, reaching the World Series in 2022 and being upset in the NLCS last season, the main goal of the Phillies is to take home a championship.

To accomplish that, they're likely going to be buyers ahead of the trade deadline, filling in different holes on their roster to make them as complete as possible heading into the playoffs.

However, there is a chance Philadelphia could be the team most negatively affected by a market that could be filled with teams who aren't looking to sell.

Entering Sunday's games, there are only two teams in the National League who are trailing the third Wild Card spot by more than three games. In the American League, only three teams find themselves double digit games out of the final spot.

Because of that, there aren't many clubs who are going to be trying to trade away impact players when they are a hot stretch away from playing fall baseball.

For the Phillies, that limits the targets they would go after.

They only would be looking to bring in someone who can help this team win a championship. Whether that is a depth outfield piece who can bring timely hits to the lineup, elite bullpen arms to make that unit deeper, or even another starting arm with the struggles of Taijuan Walker becoming more prevalent, they won't be interested in fringe additions.

Not knowing who the sellers will be only makes Dave Dombrowski's job harder.

Normally, there are multiple teams who are out of the running and will become clear candidates to trade away pieces to get assets back in return, but right now, there are only a few, making the pool of impact players smaller and causing the bidding price for those available to increase.

How aggressive Philadelphia will be if that continues to be the case before July 30 will be seen.

They've done a great job of rebuilding their pipeline, having young talent all over their farm system who seem to be on a trajectory of becoming future stars at the Major League level.

The Phillies would gladly trade away a few of them if that guarantees they can get back proven players who will help them on their journey to win a World Series.

Dombrowski has seen these situations before and knows how to manage them, but there is a chance the market won't quite be as robust for Philadelphia to bring in the veteran contributors needed to truly put this team over the top.