The Philadelphia Phillies are a near-perfect baseball team in 2024. But in the pursuit of championships, any blemish could be the difference between parades and heartbreak.
If there's one obvious Achilles Heel for this Phillies team, it's the outfield, where the club appears one bat short. Johan Rojas hasn't worked out as the starting center fielder, leaving many to believe Philadelphia could make a splash at the trade deadline.
Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox is one of the biggest names speculated to be available, with the Phillies presumed to be one of his top destinations. But according to one baseball insider, Robert isn't the White Sox outfielder who should be at the top of the Phillies' list.
Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports wrote Friday that the Phillies' "top target" at this year's deadline could be Robert's teammate, 36-year-old outfielder Tommy Pham. Pham was the best postseason hitter for last year's Arizona Diamondbacks, who upset the Phillies in seven games.
"If there’s one thing that Pham has always been able to do, it’s his ability to hit, and even after starting the season late, that ability has been on display even with a lack of talent around him," Dorsey said.
Indeed, Pham is having a strong season for the last-place White Sox, though his bat has cooled of late. He's slashing .266/.342/.372, good for a 105 OPS+.
Because of his mediocre speed, Pham wouldn't be fit to spell Rojas in center field. That duty would fall to Brandon Marsh, who saw a majority of the reps in center before Rojas was recalled from Triple-A.
Though Marsh isn't heralded as a great defensive center fielder, he's certainly adequate, with one out above average per Statcast measurements. If that allows the Phillies to get one more productive bat in the lineup, it's well worth the trade-off.
And as the Phillies and 28 other teams saw last season, having Pham in your postseason lineup can be a difference-maker. The 11-year veteran is hungry to win his first career ring, and Philadelphia could be the place he finally gets that done.
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