Two Outfielders Connected to Philadelphia Phillies Get Traded Ahead of Deadline

Two more options for the Philadelphia Phillies have come off the board in two separate moves.

Jul 24, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas (28) celebrates with Nationals first baseman Juan Yepez (18) after scoring a run against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Nationals Park / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

With it being known that the Philadelphia Phillies were going to be active ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, they are in a position where they can sit back and let things unfold after making two moves to address their needs.

Austin Hays is their newest outfielder after making a deal with the Baltimore Orioles. Then, they turned around and landed one of the best relievers on the market by acquiring Carlos Estevez from the Los Angeles Angels.

These are solid additions for a group with one of the best rosters in baseball, but nothing close to what had been rumored regarding what they might be targeting.

Perhaps the previous speculation from people around the sport was overzealous. Multiple predictions saw the Phillies land different stars who might become available, something which hasn't happened.

However, there is still time for Dave Dombrowski to make that splash move for a batter, with one former general manager hoping that comes by way of Luis Robert Jr.

Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like the star slugger is available, so if they are going to try and make another addition, they'll have to look elsewhere.

Two names who were previously connected to Philadelphia, Tommy Pham and Lane Thomas are now also off the board, getting sent to contenders in two separate deals.

Pham was involved in the three-team team trade that took place earlier on Monday between the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardinals, with the veteran ending up with the Cardinals.

Now, in the latest trade deadline move, the Phillies have seen Thomas get shipped from the Washington Nationals to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for No. 8 prospect Alex Clemmey, No. 22 prospect Rafael Ramirez and Jose Tena, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

Some publications have all three of these minor leaguers within the Top 30 of the Guardians' pipeline, making it a huge haul for the Nationals to get back for a player who has one more year of club control after this season.

There were some reports that Philadelphia didn't view Thomas as a fit, so landing Hays, who they like much better, in a cheaper deal should make the fanbase feel better about not bringing in Thomas.

Whether or not the Phillies are done will be seen.