Phillies Trade CF Adam Haseley to White Sox

The Phillies outfield picture just changed, rather surprisingly.   With the injury to Odubel Herrera, the Phillies had no clear left-handed center fielder.  That is, other than Adam Haseley.  Word came on Tuesday that Haseley had been traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for McKinley Moore, a 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher who is No. 27 on Chicago's Top 30 Prospects list per MLB Pipeline.

Get our free mobile app

Moore, 23, with a high nineties fastball and slider as his out pitch.  He has had control issues, but has made steady improvements with the White Sox organization. His fastball sits around 93-96 mph and peaks at 98 mph and is viewed as a possible setup man down the road.

From the Phillies press release:

Moore, 23, appeared in 37 combined games last season for high-A Winston-Salem and low-A Kannapolis.  He posted a 4.20 ERA (19 ER, 40.2 IP) and struck out 59 of the 181 batters he faced (32.6%).  He also appeared in 10 games for Glendale in the Arizona Fall League and struck out nine batters in 10.2 innings of work.

The move is very interesting because it suggests something else is coming.

The Phillies free up a spot on the 40-man roster by trading Haseley, a former first round pick.  Could that be a center fielder the Phillies are acquiring?  Could it be that Mickey Moniak is playing himself into contention for the job, despite manager Joe Girardi explicitly saying that he would not be considered?

Haseley, who hasn't played in a big league game since April 13 2021, when he left the organization for personal reasons. He was selected eighth overall in the 2017 MLB Draft and has hit.264 with five homers and four steals since entering the big leagues in 2019.

He was the teams Opening Day starter last year, but left that game early and never really made an impact, hitting just .190 in 21 plate appearances.

So where does this leave the Phillies?

It would appear that former No. 1 overall pick, Mickey Moniak, might make the team as a reserve outfielder with Haseley gone.  While guys like Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos will be in the lineup everyday, they are both poor defenders, meaning one will DH while the other is in the field.