The Philadelphia Phillies are making a push in the NL East, and they’re not done shopping yet. With the August 3 trade deadline closing in, the front office is reportedly targeting outfield help, and two new names have surfaced on their radar.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Phillies have added Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jo Adell to their list of potential trade targets. The team is specifically looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder, and these two offer very different kinds of value.
Gurriel has had a rough season so far. He’s played in just 45 games after starting the year on the injured list, and the numbers aren’t pretty: a .216 batting average, two home runs, 20 RBIs, and a .565 OPS. But before you write him off, remember what he did in 2025. That year he hit .248 with 19 homers and 80 RBIs over 129 games. He’s 32 now, and he’s not the All-Star he once was, but he’s still a professional hitter who could provide steady at-bats off the bench or in a platoon role.
Adell is a different story entirely. He’s having a solid year for the Angels, hitting .247 with a .294 on-base percentage. The power is real: 13 home runs, 53 RBIs, and three stolen bases so far. Over the last two seasons, he’s turned into a legitimate power threat, slugging 20 homers in 2024 and then exploding for 37 in 2025. At 26, he’s younger and more projectable than Gurriel, and the Phillies might see him as a guy who could grow into an everyday role.
The Phillies sit at 53-43, just two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the division and currently holding the second NL wild-card spot. As of this writing, they’re leading the Detroit Tigers 1-0 in the top of the sixth inning. They need outfield production now, but they’re also thinking about the postseason. Either Gurriel or Adell would give them an extra bat against left-handed pitching, and both come with some upside.
It’s worth noting that neither player is a sure thing. Gurriel hasn’t found his rhythm this year, and Adell still strikes out a ton. But the Phillies have shown they’re willing to take calculated risks. The next few days will tell if they pull the trigger on one of these guys or swing for something bigger.
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