Bullet point summary by AI
- The Philadelphia Phillies have surged since firing their manager but still face roster challenges with four players likely to be moved by the trade deadline
- Each of these players brings specific weaknesses that limit the team’s playoff chances and their contracts add pressure to act now
- Trading these four could provide immediate upgrades and future assets as the Phillies balance short-term contention with long-term building
Since firing Rob Thomson, the Philadelphia Phillies have won six of their seven games, showing signs of the team many thought they’d be entering the year. I don’t know whether this hot streak will last once the competition they face gets tougher, but even with them sitting at 15-20 on the year, it’s clearly too early to rule the Phillies out of the postseason picture right now.
That doesn’t mean the current roster is safe, though. The Phillies still have several holes they must address, and whether they’re in the postseason race come deadline time or not, these four players should still be traded or cut.
INF Edmundo Sosa
Edmundo Sosa has been a valuable utility player for the Phillies for several years now, and he remains decent. He’s hitting .277 on the year while playing five different positions. While this isn’t a player the Phillies should just be giving away, there are a couple of reasons to consider moving on from Sosa.
First, Sosa is struggling mightily against left-handed pitchers. He has a .646 OPS against southpaws this season, a far cry from his career .786 mark against them. Sosa gets starts primarily against lefties, and his struggles have played a role in the Phillies posting the third-worst wRC+ (67) against left-handed pitchers.
Second, Sosa is on an expiring contract. If the Phillies are going to let him walk in free agency, it makes a lot of sense to get something for him now before losing him for nothing, especially if they’re out of contention. Even if they are competing, it’s not as if Sosa has been helping them too much. It makes sense to trade him and replace him with someone who has been hitting lefties.
C Rafael Marchan
Teams don’t ask for much offense out of their backup catchers, but what Rafael Marchan has been doing is hard to fathom. Marchan has a total of four hits in 51 at-bats this season, hitting .078 with a .267 OPS. His -30 wRC+ is absurdly low, and the worst of the 335 position players with at least 50 plate appearances. He has been a complete zero at the plate.
Now, Marchan is valuable behind the dish, and I do believe he’s a bit better than he’s been at the plate, but even last season, he had a sub-.600 OPS in 42 games. He was one of the worst hitters in the sport last season too.
The Phillies are in a tough spot at catcher, as 35-year-old JT Realmuto is the starter. Realmuto is fine, but is clearly not the player he once was, and shouldn’t be playing as much as he is. The only reason he’s playing as much as he is happens to be because they don’t have a viable backup. If Marchan doesn’t start hitting, it’s going to be hard to argue that he should be kept.
C Garrett Stubbs
Garrett Stubbs is in the exact same boat as Marchan. He was Realmuto’s backup not too long ago, and the Phillies replaced him with Marchan because Stubbs was not getting the job done. He’s a great clubhouse guy, but that’s about it. Stubbs has a .561 OPS in limited action this season and a .602 OPS in his career.
Backup catchers only play a couple times a week at most, but it’s really hard to consistently start players like Marchan and Stubbs when the lineup around them isn’t hitting much either. Stubbs has value in the clubhouse and even offers extra versatility that Marchan doesn’t with his ability to play other positions, but he just isn’t good enough to start a couple of times per week on a contending team.
Both Stubbs and Marchan are out of options, and unless one of them starts to hit a lot more than they ever have, I don’t know why the Phillies wouldn’t look to trade for a different backup. They cannot run Realmuto to the ground, but they can’t afford to sit him as much as they should without a better backup.
3B Alec Bohm
Easily the biggest name on this list is Alec Bohm, the team’s starting third baseman. I know Bohm has been in trade rumors for quite some time now with Phillies fans eager for a shake-up, but this is the first time it feels like something just must happen. It just isn’t working.
Bohm is slashing .157/.222/.207 with one home run and 15 RBI. The lack of power isn’t shocking from a guy who has never hit for much pop, but Bohm isn’t hitting at all. He entered the year as a .279 career hitter and he hit .287 in 2024. This season, his 19 wRC+ is the second-worst among 179 qualified hitters. It’s one thing for Bohm not to hit for enough power, and it’s another for him not to hit at all, especially when he’s never been a very good defender. Bohm has been worth -0.6 fWAR this season, showing just how pathetic he’s been.
The Phillies won’t be able to get much of anything for him, given the fact that this is his final year of club control and he’s making $10.2 million, but honestly, it feels like moving him would be an example of addition by subtraction. Whether it’s top prospect Aidan Miller or some other external replacement, it feels like Bohm must be dealt whether they’re good or bad. If they’re competitive, Bohm isn’t helping enough. If they aren’t, they should be eager to get something for him before he hits the open market.
More Philadelphia Phillies news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on Google
