Very quietly, the best team in Major League Baseball has started to scuffle.
Though they still hold a huge lead atop the National League East, the Philadelphia Phillies have lost five of their last seven games. Their fantastic starting rotation has faltered a bit in July, but if they have any true hole, it is in center field.
All year, the Phillies have struggled to get much from the outfield keystone. Second-year speedster Johan Rojas has been unable to hit, while lefty platoon specialist Brandon Marsh is more of a stopgap in center than a long-term solution.
With just a week to go before the trade deadline, the Phillies are running out of time to solidify their roster before a crucial postseason push. And in a pressure-packed season, one insider believes they could pull out all the stops.
ESPN's Jeff Passan previewed the trade deadline in an article on Tuesday with intel on all 30 teams' current stances. In that piece, Passan postulated that the Phillies are the team most equipped to land superstar outfielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox.
"There is no better fit than Robert and Philadelphia," Passan said. "The one thing the Phillies lack is an impact center fielder, and they've got the prospects to tempt Chicago."
A 2023 All-Star and Silver Slugger winner, Robert fits everything the Phillies need right now. He's a power bat, a well-above-average defender in center field, and comes with two extra seasons of team control.
With Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber all in their primes, the Phillies know their best chance to win a title is in the next three seasons.
They've got the pitching, they've got the chemistry, but center field could still hold them back, as it did when Rojas went 4-for-43 in last year's postseason. If they don't want the same to happen this year, pulling off a blockbuster for Robert is likely their best bet.
Of course, any deal takes both sides to comply, and the White Sox will certainly have other suitors. Between now and 6 p.m. on July 30, we'll all have to wait and see whether both teams pull the trigger.
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