Proposed Philadelphia Phillies Trade Swaps Fan Favorite For Flamethrowing Closer

The Philadelphia Phillies could package an intriguing prospect with a veteran slugger to entice the Washington Nationals to send over their closer.

Oct 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos (8) celebrates after hitting home-run in the sixth inning against the New York Mets during game two of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies need to find someone to fill their hole at closer, and they could look beyond the free agent market to do so.

While there are some intriguing names in free agency, including a handful of former Phillies, better value might be found with a trade.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report has them opting to take that route. with his latest proposal seeing them target Washington Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan.

His idea would send veteran outfielder Nick Castellanos and shortstop prospect Starlyn Caba to the Nationals in exchange for Finnegan.

This is a massive deal that would have immense implications on next season, but is it a good move?

If that question was posed in June, many fans would have packed Castellanos's bags for him.

He is a fan favorite, but was playing very poorly and being paid handsomely to do so.

Over his first 71 games of the season, the Florida native was slashing just .204/.263/.347. There was a widespread belief that he would get sent packing at the trade deadline. Then, his play started to turn around and Philadelphia held onto him.

The 32-year-old's second half slash line was a much improved .287/.345/.494.

He quickly went from someone fans couldn't wait to get rid of, to someone that they couldn't live without.

The question now becomes whether or not the Phillies are willing to risk another, longer cold streak with him only getting older.

Caba is an intriguing prospect, but doesn't fit the timeline at all, given that Philadelphia wants to win now.

Adding a player who could help them even slightly improve their odds to win a World Series should be shipped out with ease right now.

The combo of the two is a lot to give up for one season of a closer, especially when other talented guys are available in free agency.

Finnegan is a talented reliever, but he might not be the guy to give up that much to bring in.

He posted a 3.68 ERA last season and actually had an xERA of 4.34, pointing to the fact that he got a little bit lucky.

There's nothing he is elite at, other than velocity.

They could do worse than him for sure, but they could also do much better right now.

This doesn't seem like a great deal to right, but may be worth revisiting if they strike out in free agency.