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The Philadelphia Phillies came into the trade deadline with two major needs: bullpen help and adding an outfielder.
Dave Dombrowski took care of the bullpen on Wednesday by trading for Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins. However, the outfield still needs to be addressed. It’s why columnist David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer believes the team should pursue Ramon Laureano of the Baltimore Orioles.
“Laureano figures to be at the top of a lot of team’s lists, given his .887 OPS and $6.5 million club option for next season,” wrote Murphy. “This offseason, nobody in the majors thought he was worth more than the one-year, $4 million contract that Baltimore gave him as a free agent. That’s somewhat puzzling given that he ended last season hitting 10 home runs with an .832 OPS for the Braves, who signed him after he was released by the Guardians. Laureano has some defensive question marks and has battled injuries in his career, but he didn’t come from nowhere. From 2018-21, he hit 49 home runs with an .800 OPS in 313 games for the Athletics.”
Adding Laureano would be an inexpensive way for the Phillies to address the outfield situation. He’s not a rental, so they would have to part with some prospects, but he wouldn’t demand as large of a return as Luis Robert Jr.
This didn’t stop Murphy from slamming the Phillies’ front office.
“He’s also a testament to the illusion of the trade deadline as cure for a front office’s offseason mistakes,” wrote Murphy. “The Phillies could have signed Laureano for next to nothing this offseason instead of giving Max Kepler more than double that amount. Now, in order to add him, they’d likely need to part with a package of prospects that wouldn’t be worth their while. After all, what incentive do the Orioles have to trade Laureano, given that they can keep him in their lineup with a $6 million club option next season?”
One thing for certain is the Phillies can’t continue with the outfield group they have currently. Dombrowski needs to add someone, even if it means admitting a mistake from the offseason by adding Laureano.
More MLB: David Bednar’s Price Increases as Yankees, Tigers, Dodgers Still Seeking Bullpen Help
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