Bryce Harper says his Phillies “need some help” as the Deadline nears, and that’s an entirely correct statement. The Phillies do need help, and in more than one way.
For one thing, they probably need another starting pitcher just to get through the season, given that they’re 5-21 (.192) whenever anyone outside their top four takes the mound. Given how incredibly well they play when one of Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, or Jesús Luzardo pitch (43-18, .705), the entire point is simply to get to the playoffs and let that trio cook.
Sure, that will require a reliever or three, just like most every contender, particularly after the Phillies blew a 7-0 lead on Wednesday in Miami. Still, there’s no need more urgent here than one of the most difficult things there is to find at this particular Deadline: A right-handed bat, preferably one who can play the outfield.
That’s because of some pretty bright flashing red alarms that we can summarize for you like this:
- This is the weakest group of Philly right-handed hitters in more than 30 years.
- This is the weakest group of Philly outfielders in decades.
It’s grim. They have three All-Stars in the lineup, yet also the fourth-weakest position player group in the Majors, by WAR. Here’s the receipts.
Lowest OPS from Phillies RHB, 1974-present
- .621 // 1990
- .635 // 1992
- .639 // 2026
- .639 // 1991
- .641 // 2014
Part of this is simply obvious by looking at the roster, because the Phillies have exactly three above-average hitters this year, and each of Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Brandon Marsh hit lefty. (That Harper and Marsh have each fallen on hard times over the last few weeks is a problem to solve, but not the problem, because neither of them is going anywhere.)
Meanwhile, righties Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa are all having career-worst campaigns, hitting a well below-average .229/.286/.369 combined, after that quartet had been above average the previous three seasons. While Turner has been better lately, and midseason acquisition Derek Hill has been productive, it’s also come in just 69 plate appearances, and his track record doesn’t suggest more of the same indefinitely.
So that's one problem, the righties. Here's the other one: the outfield.
Weakest Phillies OF groups by WAR, 2002-present
- 0.3 // 2026
- 1.8 // 2016
- 1.9 // 2014
- 2.1 // 2013
Every Phillies fan, obviously, looks back fondly on the 71-91 team from 2016 that had a whole lot of Odúbel Herrera, Peter Bourjos and Tyler Goeddel in the outfield.
This year’s group ranks 29th in Wins Above Replacement, a mostly predictable outcome given that they were handing center field to a talented-yet-unproven rookie in Justin Crawford (who has a 74 OPS+, where a 100 OPS+ is league-average, and recently has lost time to Hill) and swapping out Nick Castellanos for Adolis García in right. García was indeed a defensive improvement, but he hadn’t hit much in his final two years in Texas, and was running a mere 60 OPS+ before injuring sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury on June 10.
He’s been mostly replaced by rookie Gabriel Rincones Jr., who has a mere 33 OPS+ and looks to be very quickly running out of time on the roster. (“It hasn't been as good as we'd like,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. Yes, to say the least.) Bryan De La Cruz, who made several starts in right over the last week, wasn’t given a shot above Triple-A until last week despite his extensive big league experience and all the dire needs at the Major League level.
It’s a problem that demands a resolution, and Dave Dombrowski is perhaps the most likely executive to be aggressive in finding one. But solutions can only be found where they exist, and as we’ve been saying for some time now, this is maybe the worst time in history to need a right-handed bat, particularly an outfielder.
That’s because of all the reasons we laid out here a few weeks ago, noting that the share of plate appearances given to lefties is the highest on record, and continuing a trend we looked into last winter, where it had become clear that there were simply fewer righty batters who could hit at an average-or-better level.
It’s actually has gone the wrong direction for teams in the mix since then. One-time Phillies farmhand Curtis Mead may not have been a great positional fit here, but he’s already been traded to Boston anyway, and it cost the Red Sox a pretty solid ready-now pitcher in Connolly Early to do it. Reds multi-positional piece Spencer Steer would have been attractive, but a recent wrist injury puts his status into question. The same goes for San Francisco’s Casey Schmitt, out potentially for the season with a knee injury.
Plus, for everything great Schwarber has done and continues to do, his presence as the full-time designated hitter demands that any new hitter be able to at least stand in the field on a nearly full-time basis, which probably eliminates the likes of George Springer. While Harper is admirably willing to play the outfield if needed, that seems relatively unlikely, which would count out a first baseman like Ty France or Christian Walker, too.
Which leaves us with a few good-yet-imperfect righty options – to say nothing of the fact that Philadelphia is hardly the only team in this market. Let’s update a few possibilities from a few weeks ago, and add a few more.
Randy Arozarena, Mariners
It seems hard to imagine Seattle selling a bat, right? We agree. And yet: This particular Mariners season has been a massive disappointment all around, with a 53-56 team sitting in third place in a relatively weak AL West. There’s plenty of blame up and down the roster, but not to Arozarena, who is having something of a quiet career year, posting a 135 OPS+ despite playing in a brutal hitting park. (Which still applies; he’s got an OPS 151 points better away from home.)
It’d be complicated: He’s a rental, yet also one of the best postseason performers of his era, yet also a below-average defender, and more than anything, on a Seattle team that seems more likely to buy than sell. But if noted wheeler-and-dealer Jerry Dipoto really wants to shake things up, it’s hard to think of a more entertaining way to do it.
Taylor Ward, Orioles
Long one of the most obvious trade candidates, as a productive veteran on an expiring contract for a losing team, Ward has had a truly bizarre season, where his power is down enormously (from 36 homers last year to just seven this year), while his on-base skills have skyrocketed (66 extra points of OBP), meaning the outcome of a 110 OPS+ is basically the same as his career 112. It’s a wild ride, but pair that with roughly average defense, and that’s a useful enough add to a lineup.
Lane Thomas, Royals
Somewhat similar to Ward, in terms of “veteran on expiring contract on a team clearly going to sell,” and unlike Ward, he’s capable of playing some center field. That’s more flexibility, though he’s long rated as a negative in defensive metrics, and he’s had a wildly up-and-down season, where some very good stretches and some very poor ones lead to an exactly average 100 OPS+.
Heliot Ramos, Giants
The Giants will sell, but Ramos isn’t a free agent until 2030, so they don’t have to do anything with him. If they do, they’ll be selling a solid bat (109 career OPS+) with a particular skill at mashing lefties, given his massive career platoon splits (.857 OPS vs. lefties, .693 vs righties), though he’s a below-average defender in the corners. You can dream of improvement, though; as we wrote about in the offseason, and specifically spoke to Ramos about, San Francisco’s Oracle Park is the most difficult outfield in the Majors to play defense in.
Jacob Young, Nationals
Don’t say intra-division trades can’t happen, not after we just saw the Angels send their starting catcher, Logan O’Hoppe, to Texas. While Young isn’t exactly a stand-out bat (89 OPS+ this year, 81 OPS+ for his career), he’s a truly elite defender, rating behind only legends-in-their-own-time Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ceddane Rafaela in Statcast metrics over the last three years. It’s unclear the direction the surprisingly competitive Nats will take at the Deadline, though they could easily slot in former top pick Dylan Crews in center should they move Young.
Jo Adell, Angels
Not the Angels outfielder that Philadelphia fans dream on, surely, but it’s also very difficult to know what Adell is at any given time. He hit 37 homers last season and had one of the most incredible defensive days of all time earlier this year; he’s also had his OPS drop by nearly 100 points this season and annually rates as one of the weakest defensive outfielders in the game, one great day aside. Is he a change-of-scenery type? Or will flashes of greatness around inconsistency be the story forever?
Heriberto Hernández, Marlins
We have no idea what to make of Miami, and neither do you. After a six-week run as the best team in baseball, they lost 12 games in a row, then swept these very Phillies, putting them in a very unusual Trade Deadline position. While the focus will be on if they trade Sandy Alcantara, or the fact that they have enviable catching depth in a sport that usually doesn’t, it’s also not that hard to see Miami jumping on the righty outfielder deficit with Hernández, who homered twice against the Phillies, has a 121 OPS+, and plays a competent outfield. This isn’t likely, to be clear; he’s 26 and under team control through 2031. But Owen Caissie is nearing a return, Miami has plenty of nearly-ready outfielders, and if the market tilts in their favor, it can’t be ruled out, either.
Myles Straw, Blue Jays
More of a backup option than a starter, given his regularly ineffective bat, Straw’s value is as an excellent speed-and-defense type, and while you probably wouldn’t reach out to Toronto specifically to get him, should the teams match up on Kevin Gausman or Jeff Hoffman, it’s pretty easy to see Straw being included as a secondary piece, too.
Luis Robert Jr., Mets
Yes, the oft-injured Robert Jr. missed most of this season due to injury, and he's hit just .138 in 9 games since returning (albeit with two homers). The upside here is easy, though; the cost will be minimal, and he can play a capable center field. There was a lot of talk that the Phillies might have been interested here last winter, anyway.
Trea Turner, Phillies
Trick question: What if the solution is coming from inside the house? There’s no actual indication this is under consideration, but the noise is loud enough that it’s worth discussing anyway. Turner’s glove has been a big problem lately, as he recently committed seven errors in 10 games and currently rates as something near baseball’s weakest shortstop defender – though the bat has started to perk up lately. Turner has some experience in center, and while that was admittedly a decade ago, his best-in-the-world speed never seems to decline, and still hasn’t. Of course, this would require either a shortstop acquisition, like the rumored interest in Zach Neto, or for Sosa to play every day, or for Bryson Stott to move to the left side, which then opens up second, and that’s probably just too many moving pieces.
It’s definitely a list of names. Do any of them excite you? Do any feel terribly likely? It’s a tough time to need a righty bat. The Phillies won’t be the only ones trying to get one.