Philadelphia Phillies: Should they trade for Mike Trout?
By Chuck Booth
The Philadelphia Phillies are going through a slide losing six out of their last eight games and are in need of a spark.
What if that spark were to come from outside the organization? From a south jersey native? Who happens to be a generational talent? That’s right I’m talking about the Philadelphia Phillies trading for Mike Trout and it’s not as crazy as it seems.
The Los Angeles Angels have the 27th ranked farm system in all of baseball and are desperately in need of a shot in the arm. The only reason that they aren’t in last place in the AL West is because of the floundering Houston Astros.
The Philadelphia Phillies need a shot in the arm of their own but in a different way.
They have the prospects (7th ranked farm system) but they aren’t ready for the big show. The outfield, in particular, has been a black hole outside of Herrera. This leads us to ponder, why not pull the trigger on a trade for the best all-around player in the game? Sorry Bryce Harper.
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The Angels GM Billy Eppler has gone on record saying that they won’t trade Trout but as we all know a package that’s good enough will make any GM in baseball consider a trade. Eppler went as far as to say “He’s not moving. He’s an impact player, a huge piece in a championship core.” But the Angels are stagnating due to their lack of impact prospects and their aging core.
Now it would take a lot to pry Mike trout away from the Angels but the Phillies have the pieces in the minors to make a run. Trout would also absorb a lot of the payroll with his six-year 144 million dollar contract but with Ryan Howard‘s contract coming off the books at the end of the season that’s also not an issue. Now this leads us to question what would it take to acquire Trout.
A trade would have to include at least 2-3 of the Philadelphia Phillies best prospects (possibly four to avoid parting ways with J.P. Crawford) and a major league ready piece or two. That’s a steep price but it’s the cost associated with acquiring a player with a career .308/.398/.560 slash line.
Possible scenarios:
- Odubel Herrera, Aaron Altherr, Jake Thompson, Nick Williams, Mark Appel, Cornelius Randolph, and Jorge Alfaro
- While parting with Hererra is tough given the tear that he’s on this year it would give the Angels a piece that can immediately start in the outfield while also giving them the outfield of the future with Randolph, Williams, and Altherr. The important aspect of this package is that the Philadelphia Phillies don’t have to trade any major league pitchers and keep J.P. Crawford. If Crawford is on the table a deal may look a little like this…
- J.P. Crawford, Mark Appel, Jake Thompson, Nick Williams, and Odubel Herrera
- As you can see it’s hard to put together a deal without Hererra but this deal leaves the Philadelphia Phillies with some of their best offensive prospects. Keeping Altherr would be huge but there may not be enough pitching help in this package for the Angels to bite. But if pitching is what the Angels want this next package may be for them…
- Vincent Velasquez, Mark Appel, Jake Thompson, Nick Williams, Odubel Herrera
- This deal stings for the Philadelphia Phillies because they lose their top starter and hitter but this may be the most appealing package overall for the halos.
Next: Is the Starting Rotation Good Enough to Reach the Playoffs?
As with most deals of this magnitude, it’s hard to complete them at the trade deadline because of all the moving parts involved. To make this deal happen a third team may have to enter which would push it to the winter meetings. Even if it could happen there’s no guarantee that the Philadelphia Phillies would pull the trigger with how much they would deplete their farm system.
Have any comments on a deal that may work? Let us know in the comments.