Phillies rumors: Trading for Joey Gallo would be about 2022

In a recent tweet put out by Jon Heyman, the MLB insider revealed that teams have been calling the Texas Rangers in regards to Joey Gallo‘s availability. One of the better corner outfielders in baseball over the past couple of seasons, one can only assume that Dave Dombrowski and the Philadelphia Phillies are one of the teams checking in on him at the moment.

The Phillies have been linked to Gallo in the past, and Audacy Sports’ Tim Kelly connected the Phillies to Gallo earlier today as well.

Gallo wouldn’t be a *perfect* fit for the Phillies, as he’s better suited to play one of the corner outfield positions. The Phillies biggest need at the moment is of course that of center field, with Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen firmly grasping the right and left field jobs.

However, Gallo is definitely capable of holding down CF for half a season – he has 410.2 career innings logged at the position. Odubel Herrera has in fact been pretty good for the Phillies as of late, but one has to question just how long his hot run of form will last. Herrera has historically been a very streaky hitter, and I don’t think anyone would argue that replacing him in the lineup with Gallo for the remainder of the season wouldn’t be an upgrade.

Should the Phillies pursue Rangers OF Joey Gallo via trade?

Where a potential Gallo trade really intrigues me is when we look ahead to 2022, a year many have pinned as the Phillies best window for contention. Dombrowski came in late this past offseason and is still handcuffed by some of the decisions the previous regime made (McCutchen’s $20 million salary, for example), so 2022 will be his first chance to improve the Phillies roster over the course of an entire offseason.

Currently under team control through the 2022 season, Gallo would offer the Phillies a left field option moving forward. A player who can operate in the team’s cleanup spot while simultaneously providing Gold Glove caliber defense out in left, the lateral move from Cutch to Gallo would be a sizable one.

Gallo would also only be 28 years old next season, perfectly lining up with this team’s desire to compete for a World Series moving forward – with guys like Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Aaron Nola, and Zack Wheeler all in their own respective primes.

“Biting the bullet” and playing Gallo in center for the remainder of the 2021 season would probably be worth it if he can be a key middle-of-the-order bat for the Phillies in ’22. Gallo hit a combined 81 homers between 2017 and 2018, and has a career OPS of .819. Hypothetically sandwiching him between Harper and Realmuto in the lineup could seriously improve the Phillies offensive production moving forward.

Gallo does strike out a ton, which is already an issue for the Phils. He currently leads all of baseball with 60 Ks, and there’s a point to be made that Dombrowski might prefer targeting guys who put the ball in play more to complement the high-power approach that some of the team’s current pieces bring to the table.

I expect there to be high competition for Gallo should the Rangers actively shop him at some point this season, and the Phillies don’t really have the farm system to be competitive should other teams aggressively pursue the veteran outfielder. However, this type of player – someone under team control moving forward – is the mold Dombrowski should be targeting at the trade deadline. Rental agreements won’t do a ton for the Phillies, they need more core pieces to build around next offseason.