Is It time for Philadelphia Phillies to Pursue Trade for a Starting Pitcher?
The Philadelphia Phillies currently sit one game under .500. The season has not gone as expected for the reigning National League champions, especially after significant offseason acquisitions with Trea Turner as the headliner.
Yes, the offense has been less than stellar, the Phillies sit at 20 in the league in runs per game with 4.29. But the starting rotation has given them no room to breathe. It has provided no relief.
Currently, Philadelphia's rotation is 22nd in the league with a 4.56 ERA, behind the Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals. It's not great.
So, it begs the question: should the front office pursue a trade for another starting pitcher?
The Phillies currently employ Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez and Taijuan Walker. The first two have not lived up to the billing of "aces" this season, but they may be starting to get back on track.
Walker has simplified his approach and looks to be improving.
Suarez is just returning from a significant injury, so time will tell.
But that is a lot of question marks in the rotation that weren't necessarily there just a few months ago. The unit's performance is also holding the team back from truly being a World Series contender.
The issue with a trade this early in the season is that pitching will come at a premium. It always does, but teams right now, even those who are severely underperforming still believe they may be able to turn their season around.
Memorial Day is usually the benchmark date for teams to decide if they are real contenders or not.
Any trade prior to then would require a significant haul for it to be worth the giving team to essentially throw in the towel in mid-May.
But every day and every loss that passes makes it feel like Philadelphia may be moving closer to the "almost" contenders rather than World Series favorites. A billing they had this winter.
Adding a starting pitcher this early would arguably less drastic than say, firing a manager like they did with Joe Girardi last season?
A trade would also invigorate the fanbase, the clubhouse and give some hope and life to the rotation.
At this point in time, it's an option at least worth exploring.
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