With the MLB trade deadline now less than two weeks away, a rather notable name has been connected to the Philadelphia Phillies. According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Phillies are one of three teams to “check in on” Marlins center fielder Starling Marte:
Phillies, Astros and Yanks are among teams to check in on Starling Marte who seems likely to be traded. A sizable gap remains in contract talks with the Marlins as @BNightengale said. Miami’s offer is for more than the reported $30M for 3 years but extension hopes are fading.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 18, 2021
While a lot of attention has been on the bullpen – most notably the closer position – over the past few weeks, center field has remained a pretty glaring hole for the Phillies this season. Odubel Herrera was slumping hard prior to his injured list assignment, and it’s fairly unreasonable to expect Travis Jankowski to continue to hit .375 at the plate.
In Marte, the Phillies would be acquiring one of the better center fielders in all of baseball. He’s currently slashing .285/.387/.444, and has a defensive runs saved above average total of four. Marte’s career batting average is also .287 – such production at the plate should be expected to continue moving forward.
Additionally, Marte has had some pretty insane success at Citizens Bank Park in particular, something that I am positive Dave Dombrowski is factoring into his evaluation process:
Starling Marte’s career stat-line at CBP:
— Jack Fritz (@JackFritzWIP) July 19, 2021
.398 AVG/.451 OBP/.645 SLG/1.096 OPS
No brainer.
Miami CF Starling Marte has emerged as a Phillies trade target.
More from Section 215
- 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
- Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
- 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
- Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
- Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles
Marte is on the final year of his contract, and early signs are pointing to the Marlins being unable to re-sign him for the longterm, which should in theory drive his price down when it comes to a potential trade. Philadelphia has one of the lower ranked farm systems in baseball – getting Marte at a reasonable price needs to be a necessity.
If Marte were to be acquired by the Phillies over the next 12 days, they too would have to make a decision on if he’s a player they want to keep around for the longterm. The Phillies center field problem isn’t just exclusive to 2021, and will need to be addressed in the offseason.
There’s still plenty of time between now and the July 30 trade deadline, but I would expect more Philly targets to emerge over the following days. The Phillies were already planning to buy heading into the All-Star break, and are now coming of a successful four-game series against the Marlins, while the Mets stumbled against the lowly Pirates.
Pressure to get better has only gotten larger in Philly.