Philadelphia Phillies: The other Tampa Bay center fielder to trade for

Although Kevin Kiermaier has the Gold Gloves and a longer career to know exactly what he can do, he is not the only member of the Tampa Bay Rays the Philadelphia Phillies should be looking at for a center field upgrade. One season before hitting free agency, outfielder Manuel Margot is a man in the final season of arbitration eligibility which could make him a trade candidate on the typically fiscally-tight Rays club.

Acquiring in a trade with the San Diego Padres in early 2020, Margot has gotten a little better on the offensive side of the ball in his two years in Florida. In 623 plate appearances with the Rays, Margot is a .258/.317/.375 hitter with 11 home runs and 68 RBI. Nothing spectacular, what makes him a nice fit for the Phillies is the lower payroll number he’d occupy and how the best of him may still be in the future.

Manuel Margot can be a short-term or long-term solution for the Philadelphia Phillies in the outfield.

The bulk of Margot’s big league career has placed him in center field where he has played exceptionally well defensively. The more I dive into the different center field options the Philadelphia Phillies have, the more I would prefer to simply get a guy you can count on to field the position well and hit around .250 or better. The market isn’t flush with talent so they’ll need to pick which qualities are most important for them.

Since entering the major leagues, Margot has been a plus defender in every category you can find. He has great range and is a guy we could see win a Gold Glove in the not-too-distant future.

Last year, with Kiermaier in center field, Margot played mostly right field for Tampa Bay. He was close to his average self, batting .254/.313/.382 with 10 home runs and 57 RBI.

The differences between a guy like Margot and the bigger named Kiermaier mostly have to do with salary and age. Margot just turned 27 at the end of September. Kiermaier will turn 32 in April. He is owed over $12 million in 2022 with a $13 million payday or $2.5 million buyout the following season.

As far as ability goes, the two are pretty close. Kiermaier was never a tremendous hitter nor should we expect him to be moving forward. The benefit of him over Margot is the Rays may look at any trade with the Phillies as a salary dump deal. In Margot’s case, they’re flipping a young guy with more fans in general manager offices across the country. Tampa Bay’s partners in frugalness could fit him on their team much more easily than they could Kiermaier.

Whichever you prefer, I can’t see how it’s not something to explore. We should accept that the Philadelphia Phillies are not getting a superstar in center field this winter. If it’s someone that can play the position well and not be a black hole in the lineup, consider it a success.