Report: Phillies Interested in Mariners OF Hernandez

The Phillies are known to be in pursuit of a right-handed hitting outfielder. They have been linked to Tommy Pham of the New York Mets and Adam Duvall of the Boston Red Sox. But add one more name to that list: Teoscar Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

On Sunday, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto was asked by former Nationals and Reds GM Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio if Hernandez would still be a Mariner on Wednesday. "I don't know" was Dipoto's response. A pending free agent, it would make sense that Dipoto would make a move. Dipoto is known for making many trades while in baseball operations roles.

But is Hernandez a fit? There is exactly one player in Major League Baseball who has struck out more times than Phillies designated hitter/left fielder Kyle Schwarber. That would be Hernandez. Could the Phillies afford to add more strikeouts to their lineup?

Here's the reward. 16 home runs and an OPS of .696. It's a down year for Hernandez, for sure.

Back in November, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about Hernandez and the similarity to Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins. The trade of Hernandez, Lauber says, would seem to indicate what the Phillies could get for Hoskins in trade:

Let’s play a game of Name These Sluggers. Your clues will be their stats since 2018, which, in the first two instances, cover the player’s age-25 to age-29 seasons. In the third, the span is age 26 to 30.

Ready? OK, here goes:
Slugger A — .241/.350/.483, 122 OPS-plus, 130 homers, 357 RBIs.
Slugger B — .263/.321/.499, 121 OPS-plus, 121 homers, 349 RBIs.
Slugger C — .240/.302/.490, 113 OPS-plus, 127 homers, 322 RBIs.
Want the answers? Slugger A is Rhys Hoskins; Slugger B is Teoscar Hernández; Slugger C is Hunter Renfroe. And in case you missed it, the Toronto Blue Jays traded Hernández to the Seattle Mariners last week for a setup reliever and a 21-year-old single-A pitcher, while the Milwaukee Brewers dealt Renfroe to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night for two middling relievers and a lefty with a 5.24 ERA in triple A.

It is uncertain what the price is for Hernandez now.

The Phillies might be better off with Duvall or Pham. They might in fact prefer Duvall or Pham. But Dave Dombrowski wouldn't be doing his job unless he checked in on all the available right-handed bats. Hernandez is one of them.

The MLB trade deadline is Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. Stay tuned.