The Phillies can make big splashes before the trade deadline.
But sometimes being good is the enemy of being great, and as close as the Phillies have come the past couple of seasons to winning a World Series, they should be looking for every edge to push themselves over the top. They have some obvious deficiencies, and luckily, general manager Dave Dombrowski has proven over the years that he will go above and beyond to address those issues.
Now that Johan Rojas has been optioned to Triple-A, it’s clear that trading for a center fielder is priority one for Dombrowski and the Phils. Brandon Marsh is a great platoon left fielder but won’t provide as much value at a more premium defensive position in center. Bringing in Robert, who would lengthen the lineup considerably while improving the lefty-righty balance, would be the best possible thing the Phillies could do for their offense at the moment.
The Phillies have a trio of premier prospects in Andrew Painter, Mick Abel, and Aidan Miller. Acquiring Robert would require giving up a minimum of one of those three and possibly a second. But it’s worth the gamble because Robert fits the Phillies’ current title window. All that matters is getting a ring in the Bryce Harper era and with two remaining years of team control, Robert maximizes Philly’s chances of doing exactly that.
