Phillies shopping for reliever, could snag 'hard thrower' from White Sox

Colin Keane

Phillies shopping for reliever, could snag 'hard thrower' from White Sox image

The Philadelphia Phillies have a playoff-ready roster, but they'd still like to add a reliever to put themselves over the top.

General manager Dave Dombrowski has been monitoring the market for weeks and is ready to strike at any moment for a relief arm to bolster Philadelphia's late-inning performance.

One pitcher singled out this weekend as a possibility for the Phillies is Michael Kopech of the Chicago White Sox.

On Saturday, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal linked Kopech to Philadelphia, suggesting that Kopech is precisely the kind of bullpen arm that Dombrowski prefers.

"The Philadelphia Phillies continue to canvass the market for relievers," Rosenthal said. "One possibility: The White Sox’s Michael Kopech, the type of hard thrower Phils president of baseball operations David Dombrowski likes to acquire. Dombrowski had Kopech with the Boston Red Sox before including him in the deal that brought Chris Sale to Boston."

Not surprisingly, Kopech isn't the only reliever that Dombrowski is considering. The Phillies are currently looking to acquire Tanner Scott and could view Kopech as a viable second option if negotiations for Scott fall through.

One way or another, Dombrowski will land a reliever before Tuesday's deadline.

More MLB: Phillies surprisingly land White Sox All-Star in proposed trade by insider

 

Colin Keane

Colin Keane Photo

Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for The Sporting News. Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.