The MLB trade deadline hits Monday at 6 p.m. ET, and the Philadelphia Phillies have a problem. Actually, they have a few of them.
The Phillies dropped 9 of their last 12 games. They got swept by the Marlins. That’s a Marlins team that had been dormant for weeks. And the tension in the clubhouse is starting to spill out into the open.
Bryce Harper wants action. He’s made that clear. He wants president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to make moves and strengthen the roster. Harper is not the type to sit back and wait. He’s a leader, but his edge rubs some people the wrong way. Interim manager Don Mattingly is not exactly thrilled about it.
“Guys want to be GMs, what you need without a real understanding of where the organization is, exactly where this thing goes not only this year, but moving forward,” Mattingly said. “Players like being GMs and making calls and spending other people’s money. So, let it go at that.”
Meanwhile, Kyle Schwarber operates differently. He’s more inclusive, more of a steadying presence. That dynamic matters when a team is in a skid. But the Phillies’ lineup — Harper, Schwarber, Trea Turner, Brandon Marsh — is explosive. Yet they scored one run across two games against the Yankees last weekend. Then the Marlins series happened. The panic level is rising.
The Skubal factor
Dombrowski has a track record. He made moves with the Marlins, Tigers, Red Sox, and now the Phillies. He knows how to push chips in. And the big prize on the market is Tarik Skubal.
Skubal won the Cy Young Award in the American League each of the last two seasons. He had minor elbow surgery earlier this year to remove loose bone fragments, and he’s rounding into form. His numbers this season: 7-5 record, 2.83 ERA, 116 strikeouts in 96.2 innings. He’s allowed just seven earned runs in his last five starts. That’s the kind of pitcher who can flip a postseason race.
On paper, the Phillies have a solid rotation — Christopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola. Sanchez has been excellent with a 13-4 record and 2.73 ERA. But Nola has struggled. Luzardo has had some issues. And the baseball truism holds: you can never have enough starting pitching when the playoffs are on the line.
Skubal would almost certainly be a rental for the final weeks of the season. But there’s a wrinkle. A labor dispute is looming after the World Series, and rosters could freeze until a new agreement is in place. That could help a team that acquires him hold on longer than expected.
The Phillies are tied for the No. 2 Wild Card spot with the Diamondbacks. They’re 6.5 games behind the Braves in the NL East. That’s not an impossible gap. Adding Skubal would send a message — to the clubhouse, to the league, to Harper. It would say the front office believes in this team.
Dombrowski has until 6 p.m. Monday. Harper is watching. The clock is ticking.
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