Philadelphia Phillies: 3 first thoughts on the Adam Haseley trade

The Philadelphia Phillies added a trade to their offseason ledger. On Tuesday, March 29, they said goodbye to outfielder Adam Haseley and hello to McKinley Moore.

Haseley was traded to the Chicago White Sox for this minor league pitcher with one of the best presidential names in the league. A reliever throughout his professional career, Moore was ranked 27th in the White Sox system prior to the move. He should be ranked even higher with the Phillies given the weaknesses in their farm system.

A rather stunning move yet not quite unbelievable, there are a few things to think about with this trade.

The Philadelphia Phillies waved the flag on Adam Haseley ever becoming a big-league outfielder.

Trading Haseley now signals the organization had seen enough. His unexplained absence last year stunted any progress he had made. Let’s not forget, prior to 2021, Haseley had looked mildly successful as a professional hitter. He leaves the Phillies with a lifetime .264/.322/.373 slash line in only 355 trips to the plate.

This spring hadn’t gone well for Haseley who departs going just 2 for 18 at the plate. The eighth overall selection from the 2017 draft hasn’t worked out well at all for the club. Unlike some other notable young Phillies players in recent years, he will not have a chance to redeem himself in red and blue.

The Philadelphia Phillies are putting a little more faith in Mickey Moniak.

Mickey Moniak is having one heck of a spring, smacking three home runs in his first 19 trips to the plate. Moniak and Haseley were essentially in a similar role heading into this year. They could have rounded out the bench as two first-round draft pick outfielders hoping to prove themselves.

Moniak won the battle in Philadelphia despite not having nearly as good of numbers as a professional player. However, because he was the first overall pick, is younger, and has played well this spring, he’ll be in line to back up everyone beginning on Opening Day.

McKinley Moore can give the Phillies some much-needed pitching depth, maybe.

The Phillies have a couple of young relief pitchers we should see on the Opening Day roster. While none have established themselves fully, the situation isn’t incredibly dire.

Moore is still several years away from making it to the big leagues. Last year in Single-A and High-A, he was 2-2 with a 4.20 ERA in 40.2 relief innings. Control has been a bit of an issue for him in his two seasons as a professional. Fortunately, he strikes out batters a lot, too.

The trade feels like a loss for the Phillies, and it could very well turn into one. It’s hard to imagine Moore becoming much more than a middle reliever. Haseley, on the other hand, could still become a decent fourth or fifth outfielder.

It’s definitely disappointing for the Phillies to officially move on from one of their recent first-round draft picks. The string of Moniak, Haseley, and Alec Bohm from 2016-2018 has not worked out well. All were selected within the top ten of the draft. Haseley is the first one gone. In 2022, Moniak and Bohm will each have to fight to avoid a similar fate.