The Phillies are moving into the trade deadline as one of baseball’s obvious buyers, and their search for a right-handed hitting outfielder is starting to widen.
Philadelphia’s surge has changed the picture fast. The club climbed from 10 games under .500 to 10 games over .500 before the end of June, and it enters play on July 12 just two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
That kind of turnaround doesn’t usually lead to patience at the deadline. It leads to shopping.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reported that the Phillies have added Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to their list of possible targets.
“The Phillies have included Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. among their possible trade targets for a right-handed hitting outfielder,” Nightengale wrote in his recent post.
On the surface, Gurriel’s 2026 numbers don’t jump off the page. He opened the season on the injured list and still hasn’t really found his rhythm since returning, hitting .216/.265/.299 with two home runs in 181 plate appearances.
His overall value has been light, too, with a -0.5 bWAR. Baseball Savant shows the only area where he’s been above average this season is baserunning, where he has a +1 run value.
The bat and glove have both lagged. Gurriel is sitting at -11 Batting Run Value and -2 Fielding Run Value, though he is not yet qualified for the season-long leaderboards.
Still, there’s a reason he makes sense for Philadelphia. The Phillies have a farm system ranked near the bottom of the league, which could make it harder for Dave Dombrowski to chase the more expensive names at the top of the right-handed outfield market, including Jo Adell of the Los Angeles Angels and Seiya Suzuki of the Chicago Cubs.
Gurriel’s team option for 2027 could also work in Philadelphia’s favor. If the Phillies view him as a rental, that would likely bring the asking price down.
And there is one skill that keeps him on the radar: his track record against left-handed pitching. The Phillies’ right-handed hitters have struggled against southpaws in 2026, while Gurriel owns a career .294/.337/.470 line in 1,042 plate appearances against lefties.
If Philadelphia can’t land a true everyday right fielder, improving those platoon splits remains the top priority.
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