Phillies Mailbag: The Deadline, August Trades and the Vet
We are back once again with the 97.3 ESPN Phillies mailbag. Send your questions to the 97.3 ESPN text board at 609-403-0973 or send them to @FrankKlose on Twitter. Each week on Tuesday afternoon we answer your questions on the air during the Sports Bash with Mike Gill.
What should the Phillies being doing before the trade deadline today?
~Tim
The Phillies may have made their biggest acquisition thus far with Asdrubal Cabrera joining the Phillies offense. Simply put: there are really few impact players available. Word broke late last night that the Nationals might have been open to listening to offers for outfielder Bryce Harper, and he would be an impact player. But by late morning, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo had backed down and said Harper was staying.
I do think the Phillies probably land another reliever, perhaps a left-handed reliever who would be an upgrade from Adam Morgan as the primary lefty. Possibly a right-handed veteran bench bat who can spell Nick Williams against a tough left-handed pitcher would help too.
However, I do not see any major moves. The Phillies could use their financial strength to claim some players in August and see if any of them stick, but there may not be much out there that makes sense for the Phillies aside from said reliever and bench bat. But before this segment is even over during 3:30 today we could see a move.
Who might the Phillies be able to acquire in August if they do not make a deal at the non-waiver trade deadline?
~Andrew
This is a good question. While July 31 is often referred to as THE trade deadline, trades can be made through August. The stipulation is that players must pass through waivers. Some players with higher salaries may do so and open up the possibility of trades.
The way it works is that teams can place players on revocable waivers. Let's say the San Francisco Giants place Andrew McCutchen on revocable waivers. They have one and only one opportunity to do it. The other 29 teams will have the opportunity to claim McCutchen, taking on his full contract.
Should no team claim McCutchen, the Giants would be able to trade McCutchen freely.
Should a team claim McCutchen, the Giants could revoke those waivers, pulling him back and he will remain that on the Giants for the rest of the year. Or, the team awarded the claim could work out a trade with the Giants. If multiple teams claim the player, the team with the worst record is awarded the claim.
The Phillies acquired many big names in August in previous years, including Scott Eyre and Matt Stairs in 2008 and Jamie Moyer in 2006. The Phillies made some August trades in recent years, sending Joe Blanton and Roberto Hernandez to the Dodgers in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
And let us not forget the big trade of last season: Justin Verlander heading to the Houston Astros from the Detroit Tigers. That trade arguably won the Astros the World Series. That was an August trade. So there could be many more moves after today.
Ichiro Suzuki is somewhat active, as he perhaps plans to play next season when the Seattle Mariners open their season in Japan.
But that is it. The Vet is becoming a distant memory.