The Phillies are going to have to do some roster surgery before the Aug. 4 trade deadline, and the part that always gets ugly is deciding who gets bumped when the new help arrives. Philadelphia has holes to fill, and that means a few current names are staring at the edge of the roster.
Rafael Marchán looks like the easiest casualty. The Phillies are carrying J.T.
Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs and Marchán behind the plate, and that setup simply does not make much sense. Realmuto is the starter and the workhorse, which leaves two backup catchers on a roster that could use that space elsewhere.
Marchán has gotten most of the second-string work, but he hasn’t offered much at all, hitting .115/.148/.192 in 81 plate appearances. Stubbs has been slightly better at .167/.250/.167 over 28 trips to the plate, though not by enough to change the bigger picture.
If Philadelphia brings in another bat to help lengthen the lineup, Marchán is the clearest player to get pushed out. The 27-year-old once carried some prospect buzz, but he has not shown himself to be a major league-caliber hitter. Stubbs gets the nod over him because he can move around defensively and can help as a pinch-runner.
Gabriel Rincones Jr. is another name that could be squeezed out if the Phillies add an outfielder. His season got off on the wrong foot when he started on the shelf, and he had only 12 Triple-A games under his belt before being thrown into emergency big-league duty after Adolis García’s season-ending injury. The upside is still there for the 25-year-old slugging right fielder, but the jump clearly came fast.
In 10 games with Philadelphia, Rincones has just four hits in 34 plate appearances. He has not walked and has struck out nine times.
His defense is still developing, and he has already been losing time to Derek Hill. The Phillies do not need to give up on him, but a return to Lehigh Valley for more seasoning would make sense if they land another outfielder.
On the pitching side, Alan Rangel is on shaky ground if the Phillies make a move for a veteran starter. Rangel has been the arm asked to clean up the mess left by top prospect Andrew Painter’s rough debut, and his results have been decent enough, if unspectacular: six runs allowed over 12 innings in three big league games, with 13 strikeouts. That’s not a disaster, but it also doesn’t scream long-term rotation answer.
Dave Dombrowski should be looking hard at available starting pitching, and if Philadelphia lands one, Rangel is the obvious player to slide off the board.
Kyle Backhus may be in an even tougher spot if the Phillies chase bullpen help. The left-hander was signed this winter to fill a sort of Matt Strahm replacement role, but that was always a risky ask for a pitcher with less than one year of big league experience.
The results have backed that up. Backhus has a 6.00 ERA in 13 games with the Phillies.
The left-handed relief group has been a mess overall, with Backhus and José Alvarado both hard to trust and Tim Mayza the only southpaw who has managed to keep things together. That is not a stable setup, and it makes a trade for a more battle-tested lefty feel likely. If that happens, Backhus, who still has a full slate of minor league options, is the one who would have to make room.
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