Two Starting pitchers That Could be Good Fits for Phillies

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is still over a month from now, this year the date is Aug. 2.

However, don't be surprised if Dave Dombrowski tries to do something before the deadline to try to improve the Phillies' pitching, both starting and bullpen.

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Over at The Athletic, former MLB GM, Jim Bowden, listed 10 starting pitchers that could be moved at the deadline, and mentioned two of them as good fits for the Phillies rotation.

First up is Oakland A's right-hander Frankie Montas.

Montas is the second-best starting pitcher on the trade block. He has started 46 games since the beginning of the 2021 season, the most in the American League. He’s durable, provides innings, competes and can beat the best teams. Last season, he went 13-9 with a 3.37 ERA and finished sixth in the AL Cy Young Award voting.

The 29-year-old has a solid 3.53 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 84 strikeouts across 81 2/3 innings so far in 2022 and would give the Phillies a very good middle-of-the-rotation starter behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.

He could be one of the most sought-after arms on the trade market this season, but is still likely to be moved.

The A’s have received many offers for Montas, but their asking price is high and no one has met it. However, someone eventually will and he’ll be traded.

The next pitcher that Bowden mentions, Phillies fans will actually get to see throw tonight, left-hander Martín Pérez.

Pérez, who inked a one-year, $4 million deal with the Rangers in March, has been the best value free-agent signing of the offseason. Last year with Boston, Pérez went 7-8 with a 4.74 ERA in 22 starts and 14 relief appearances. It was his fifth consecutive season with an ERA of 4.50 or greater. But Pérez is having a career year this season, with a 2.10 ERA in 81 1/3 innings through 13 starts. He’s struck out 65 and walked 18.

Pérez is an interesting name to keep an eye on because he has pitched both as a starter and out of the bullpen, something that could be attractive to the Phillies at a relatively low cost.

Pérez’s trade value will never be higher, and he’ll be a free agent after this season. Although the Texas front office could talk itself into wild-card ambitions, in reality the Rangers are a year away. Trading Pérez now would be their best play.

He is 4-2 and has a 2.10 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 65 strikeouts across 81.1 innings this season entering tonight's game against the Phillies.