Despite being one of Major League Baseball's best teams, the Philadelphia Phillies have a clear weakness.
Philadelphia has been struggling to get offensive production from outfielders all season long. And thought the Phillies have mostly weathered the storm, the last two games without Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in the lineup have made the issue far more glaring.
Fortunately, there is one clear solution at this time of year. The Phillies can look to the trade market in order to plug the hole in their current outfield. And thankfully, there are more teams seemingly becoming sellers thanks to their poor performance on the field.
Principal among those potential surprise sellers are the Chicago Cubs, who have played horrific baseball since early May. Chicago expected to compete for a division title when they lured former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell to be their skipper, but they currently have the third-worst record in the National League.
According to one insider, there is one simple move that could help both the Phillies and Cubs make the most of this year's trade deadline.
MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand mentioned the Cubs' Ian Happ as a potential fit for the Phillies in his Sunday NL trade deadline preview. Happ, a 2022 NL All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, has two more seasons of team control after this season.
This hasn't been Happ's best season offensively, but the switch-hitter has picked it up as of late. He hit a clutch extra-inning home run in San Francisco in a 5-3 Cubs win Thursday and currently boasts a .751 OPS/112 OPS+.
While Happ could be a huge boon to the Phillies' lineup, it might be wise for Chicago to deal him. With Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger, and top prospect Owen Caissie all in the outfield, the Cubs would be left with one too many bodies once Caissie gets called up.
With Happ's Gold Glove prowess exclusive to left field, the Phillies would likely roll with Brandon Marsh as their everyday center fielder the rest of the way, with possible platoon at-bats available for Cristian Pache against lefties.
But if Philly is getting the best version of Happ, the 2022 version who put up a career-high 4.2 bWAR, then the move is worth it. The question becomes whether Chicago is indeed willing to pull the trigger.
More MLB: Why Phillies could acquire Cubs superstar in surprise blockbuster
