Philadelphia Phillies: 3 blockbuster deadline day trades to make
By David Esser
Robbie Ray, Arizona Diamondbacks (SP)
Left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray was linked pretty heavily to the Philadelphia Phillies at last year’s trade deadline, so it would make sense for there to still be some interest in the savvy veteran. The 28 year old has been having a really rough year for Arizona thus far (7.84 ERA), so the Phillies could swoop in and get him at a much cheaper price than he was going for last season.
Ray is a strikeout machine, averaging over 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings in each of his last four major league seasons. His ERA has never truly reflected that of someone who has “ace potential”, but a lot of metrics around baseball have him pinned as someone who is destined to breakout.
The Phillies have had pretty good success with their rotation as of late (minus Jake Arrieta), but there’s still some internal belief that they could be in the market for a sixth starter. The Phils have to play an exuberant around of games in a short period of time over the next month in order to finish their season, and with plenty of double headers crammed in there, they’e going to have to lean on a larger rotation than normal.
Joe Girardi had been using Vince Velasquez during double headers, but the hard-throwing righty recently got moved to the bullpen. The team could use one more starter, and they could especially use a lefty starter. Ray fits the bill, and his 2020 struggles combined with his expiring contract could see him moved for far less than he’s actually worth.