Time’s a ticking — more like gonging — for the Philadelphia Phillies, who’ve yet to squeeze the trigger on a franchise-shaking deal. And aren’t they cutting it close with Thursday’s trade deadline looming? There’s no cause for panic considering the big targets reportedly linked to the Phils are still out there to be had — one being Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suárez.
Wait, Suárez? Don’t the Phillies need an outfielder? Yep. But it would take some rejiggering of the defense to improve the outfield’s offensive production. Suárez would step in at third base, causing the Phils to shift Alec Bohm to first (once Bohm returns from a rib injury next month) and Bryce Harper to left field. But would Harper be cool with such a move?
Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez remains a trade target of the Philadelphia Phillies. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
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It was actually Harper who offered the solution back in spring training. “I think obviously they like me at first base,” Harper told the Inquirer. “But if something came up at the deadline that would make us a better team, or anything like that, I would obviously make the decision to go back out there (to the outfield) if they wanted me to. For the long term? Probably not. But for the short term, I definitely would.”
Suárez, who has the third-most homers (36) in the National League, is the right-handed power bat that the Phillies desperately need, providing lineup protection for Harper. But to get him, Philly may have to part with Mick Abel, who made his major-league debut in May and is the Phillies’ No. 2 pitching prospect behind Andrew Painter. The Diamondbacks were reportedly among several teams scouting Triple-A Lehigh Valley last Friday when Abel allowed five runs in five innings.
The Phillies are also reportedly in on the Jhoan Duran sweepstakes. The 27-year-old righty whose fastball averages 100.2 mph would give the Phils the lights-out closer they have needed for about an eternity. Here’s a look at his Ninja-worthy splinker:
Duran, who would be under team control until after the 2027 season, would come with a massive cost that would include two or three of the following prospects: Aidan Miller, Justin Crawford, Aroon Escobar, Eduardo Tait and Abel.
It’s been reported that Painter, the team’s No. 1 prospect, remains untouchable. Painter started Wednesday, as scheduled, and threw a career-high 103 pitches in 6 1/3 innings. As the Inquirer noted: That wouldn’t have happened if the Phillies had any plans of trading him.
Anyway, stay tuned to see who the Phillies get Maybe it’ll be Suárez. Maybe it’ll Duran, Maybe it’ll be both.