Phillies Mailbag: Trade Targets, Mets, Realmuto

We are back once again with a 97.3 ESPN Phillies mailbag. Each week we take your questions and talk about them on the Sports Bash with Mike Gill every Tuesday. Send your questions anytime on Twitter to @FrankKlose or send a text to the text board at 609-403-0973.

How many more moves will we see from the #Phillies by the deadline? Anything significant?
~Phil

Well I can answer this in two ways: What I think the Phillies should do and what the team will do.  I'll answer the latter first.

Right now I am really unsure what the Phillies will do.  I would think that Jason Vargas was not brought onto the roster to be the only move.  He's a serviceable player who can help out in the place of Zach Eflin or Jake Arrieta.   I think that there will be more to come from the Phillies, though the tight-lipped Phillies front office is leaking nothing.

Both general manager Matt Klentak and president Andy MacPhail have spoken about not going overboard in terms of trading prospects since the Phillies are not "one player away" from the World Series.  They may be a couple more moves from being able to win a Wild Card, at the very least.

What I think the Phillies should do is to try to add an impact starting pitcher.  Who would have thought that Vince Velasquez might be the second-safest starter on the roster behind Aaron Nola?  Ideally they'll be able to fill the spot vacated by Nick Pivetta with some depth behind Drew Smyly, able to cover for the struggling Eflin, AND have someone who can jump in behind Arrieta.

The Phillies have been linked one way or another to Trevor Bauer, Zach Greinke, Robbie Ray, Mike Minor, and Tanner Roark.  Mike Leake should be moved by Seattle.  Will they land one of these players?  That remains to be seen as the chatter is quiet.

I would also think the Phillies could use a right-handed outfield bat.  Jay Bruce is currently in the injured list  Is there a right-handed outfielder available who can play left field but also maybe once in a while jump into center?  Some have suggested Yasiel Puig. I am sure there are others out there, but it's hard to know who exactly is available.

Any chance the Phillies just go for it and trade for Noah Syndergaard? One can dream, right? I mean, they seem to love trading for Mets players. (Ugh)
~Palmer

What the New York Mets are doing is one of the more intriguing story lines this trade deadline.  The Mets surprised everyone and picked up Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays, despite seeming pegged to be sellers.  For now, Stroman replaces Jason Vargas, who was traded to the Phillies.  But it's certainly somewhat puzzling to figure out how the rest of their trade deadline will play off.

Noah Syndergaard has frequently been mentioned in trade rumors.  The Mets scratched Ervin Santana at Triple-A to be a possible starter in New York tonight or tomorrow.  Syndergaard is set to pitch tonight and Zach Wheeler tomorrow.

Trading Wheeler, an impending free agent, seems to make sense for the Mets.  However, Syndegaard remains under club control through for two more seasons and the Mets could get a decent haul if they traded him.

I might think that if the Mets do that they would prefer to not trade him to the division rival Phillies.  Seeing Syndergaard in red pinstripes next two seasons and the rest of this one is much different than trading the Phillies the likes of Vargas or Asdrubal Cabrera.

But I cannot figure out if the Mets are trying to stay mildly competitive this season or if they are trading for the future.  The Stroman deal helps them for next year; if a trade makes sense for the long-term they might do it.

Remember, however, this is the team that thought it was a good idea to take on five seasons of Robinson Cano at $24 million per season. I cannot figure them out.

Should the Phillies sign Realmuto to an extension soon? Good solid catching is not easy to come by.
~Chris

I think that an extension for catcher J.T. Realmuto is something that the Phillies would like to do.  I am not sure it has to happen right now.  Realmuto is under club control through next year.  That could be a topic for the offseason.

While Realmuto has not hit the way many thought he would, I think that will come.  In fact, you might say it has. Realmuto has hit three home runs in his last four games.

When the Phillies ponied up top prospect Sixto Sanchez, I think that they hoped Realmuto would be the long-term solution.  While at the time, general manager Matt Klentak made the analogy that people should date a while before getting married, I think he still holds that hope.