The Phillies are scouting Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall, reports Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. That would align with Philadelphia’s reported interest in adding a right-handed bat.
Duvall, 34, signed with the Sox in January to help them cover center field. His deal came with a $7MM guarantee and incentives based on plate appearances. With shortstop Trevor Story having undergone elbow surgery, their plan was to move Enrique Hernández from center to shortstop, with Duvall and Raimel Tapia brought aboard to help out in center.
Through eight games, Duvall had apparently activated god mode, hitting .455/.514/1.030. Unfortunately, he then suffered a fractured wrist and wasn’t able to return until June. Since then, he’s hit a far more earthly .211/.279/.395. That’s been a running theme for Duvall, who has occasionally looked great at the plate but has also been held back by injuries. He hit 38 home runs in 2021 but then followed that up with diminished results last year while missing roughly half the season due to wrist surgery.
But the fact that the Phils are interested is sensible. As mentioned, they are looking for a right-handed bat, which would be a good fit for their lineup. They have many lefties getting regular action, with Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh and Jake Cave all hitting from that side. Adding another right-handed bat into the mix could allow the club to shield some in that group from lefties on occasion, either by platooning or pinch-hitting.
From the Red Sox’ perspective, they aren’t under any obligation to trade Duvall. He is an impending free agent, but they are in the thick of a postseason race, 2.5 games behind the Blue Jays and Astros for a Wild Card spot. It was reported yesterday that the club has no interest in trading Justin Turner, who is also likely to hit free agency this fall by declining a player option. The Sox could take the same approach with Duvall and simply hold him for their playoff push.
But there’s also a case for cashing him in, if they get a compelling offer. While Duvall was on the injured list, Jarren Duran seemingly cemented himself as a viable major leaguer in center. The 26-year-old struggled in his first tastes of major league pitching but has broken out with a .311/.363/.500 showing this year, stealing 21 bases to boot with roughly average defense. Alongside Masataka Yoshida and Alex Verdugo, the Sox could consider themselves set in the outfield.
All three of those guys hit from the left side, so perhaps Boston could still utilize Duvall as a right-handed complement to them. But they already have Rob Refsnyder on the roster for essentially the same reason. He’s hit .358/.475/.457 against southpaws this year and .276/.381/.390 in his career. He and the club already agreed to a contract for 2024 with a club option for 2025. Each of Yoshida, Duran and Verdugo are either under contract or club control next year as well.
Perhaps the Sox would consider moving on from Duvall and rolling with that group as its outfield mix, maybe exchanging him for pitching or a prospect. It’s unclear if the Sox have interest in that but they have already reportedly received interest from Atlanta and now Philadelphia as well. If the Phillies can’t get a deal done on Duvall, other options include Tommy Pham and Randal Grichuk. The trade deadline is August 1.
Meh
God Mode? Hahahaha
Through “8” games
god mode lol (lower case g)
ooooh! So edgy!
Duvall is a weird player, a corner OF and occasional 1B until age 33 when he moved to CF. Who else has done that at his age?
He’s always been a strong defensive outfielder, won a Gold Glove in 2021 which included 30 games in CF, played another 45 games there in 2022 as well.
Ick
Duvall has looked quite better the last couple weeks, and has an OPS over .800 for the month of July. His wrist simply wasn’t fully healed in June and it got in his head a little bit.
His swing looks back on track, Red Sox should not let him go for cheap
Phillies FO is so secretive. I don’t even think anyone knows what they’re doing, but I honestly don’t expect a huge splash. Duvall doesn’t move the needle for them though.
Agree, Von. I don’t see Dombro making any blockbuster moves. Frankly, I’d be fine with Rojas playing every day in CF and the Phils looking for a cheap RH bat to platoon with Marsh in LF.
That would improve the defense, and after last night’s loss to the Pirates, God knows we need better defense,
The Phils don’t need another outfielder. What they need is a first baseman and some extra pitching. They also have to find a trade partner for Kyle Schwarber. So, here’s the thing….. The Phils are set in right with Castellanos, in center with Marsh (left) and Rojas (right), and in left with Cave (left) and Pache (right). Rojas is a very exciting prospect and Pache has greatly improved as a hitter since joining the Phils. Very few outfielders currently on the market, not named Soto or Bellinger, offer much more to the Phils than the guys they already have. The Phils biggest mistake is thinking Harper can play first base without getting hurt. His aggressive style of play and lack of familiarity with first base are such that the possibility of serious injury must be seriously considered. Such an injury to Harper and any significant time on the IL would seriously derail the team’s efforts to make the playoffs this year. Bellinger would be a nice fit for the Phils because he can play the outfield and first base. However, he is no longer available. Paul Goldschmidt would elevate the Phils offense to new levels, but the Cards may not trade him. Another right-handed hitting first baseman who would fit in very well with the Phils is CJ Cron of the Rockies. With him at first, Harper could return to DH this season and RF next. Another pipedream would be to acquire Arenado to play third and move Bohm to first. Although Schwarber is thought of highly in Philly, his home run hitting ability, diminished though it is this season, frequent walks, and team leadership must be weighed against his more frequent strikeouts, batting average that has not approached the Mendoza Line in months, and league worst defensive rating in left field. In short, Schwarber is the Phils’ DH because he cannot play defense, and Harper is the team’s first baseman because the Phils have nowhere else to play Schwarber. Because Schwarber has played well the past few weeks, teams looking for a power hitter and team leader could be interested. By trading Schwarber and acquiring someone like Cron to play first base, the Phils would be able to return Harper to DH for the rest of the year and be solid at every position. Add another mid-level starter and some bullpen help, and the Phils could be better prepared to enter the playoffs than they were last season. What would also help is the Phils high-priced players, i.e. Castellanos, Realmuto and, especially, Turner, racheting their game up a few notches and keeping up with the likes of Bohm, Stott, and Marsh. The Phils are already blessed with a lot of talent. The last thing they need is another outfielder.
They absolutely need an OF bat instead of playing Cave. Harper can play first. Schwarber is a DH.
VPH, The Phils could be competitive with an outfield of Castellanos, Rojas, and Marsh. Rojas is the real deal and, from his .300+ batting average, fielding, and base running, he looks ready for prime time. When Pache returns in the near future, his skill set will closely parallel that of Rojas. Cave has helped the Phils offensively and defensively and has a lot of upside potential. As a backup, the Phils could do a lot worse. Playing Harper at first is not worth the risk. Schwarber is a DH – a .185 hitting DH. The Phils need more if they plan on any future trips to the playoffs. I have no problem with the Phils adding an outfielder who may be able to help them this season, but adding a first baseman and protecting Harper for the rest of the season at DH seems a lot more important.
Cave has no upside potential. Some pop, yes. But that’s about it. Check the back of his baseball card.
Again, it’s easy to say trade Kyle Schwarber. What are you expecting in return? Trading away your team’s only current source of power doesn’t make any sense; regardless of his other shortcomings. His power, coupled with his strong leadership, outweighs whatever you think you’ll receive in return and what you’ll then replace him with
Schwarber’s value (1.1 WAR) for 2 years has not been worth the $39M he’s been paid. Homeruns are valuable, but they dont negate his BA, fielding and league leading Strikeouts.
Trading him would save the $40M for the next two seasons. That alone is worth it.
Then what do you trade him for?
His poor defense attributed to the low WAR. The Phillies didn’t have a choice to play him the field due to Harper’s injury
Again, you’re trading away your team’s only current source of power for??
“Then what do you trade him for?”
Salary Relief. Phillies already have 192M committed to 2024. If youre all in on this year and dont care about the future, sure hold on to him, but his 40M will be an albatross going forward. His value will never recoup that price.
“His poor defense attributed to the low WAR”
Right, so you trade him for defense-first outfield. You seem obsessed with the HRS but are ignoring the .185 BA and league leading strikeouts.
Trade Schwarber for whatever you can get, and bring in Duvall. That would be a vast improvement defensively and still bring a little pop. Also, that would help the team in the future.
Phils are stuck with Schwarber, but his value increases if he isn’t in the OF.
A team that was 2 wins away from a World Series with a championship window that is open now doesn’t care about “salary relief” or “the future”
It’s not that I’m obsessed with home runs. I’m just trying to think of this logically and not care about how much of an “albatross” his contract is. Who do you replace that power with? A 34 year old Adam Duvall who’s banged up with injuries?
No offense, but trading Kyle Schwarber for “whatever you can get” is totally asinine
Lol, okay. So youre all in, in 2023.
Trading him would save the $40M for the next two seasons. That alone is worth it.
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I don’t think the Phils could trade him without eating some salary. I think he should be better than he is currently showing, but no glove, no baserunning ability, and leading the league in Ks is a tough sell.
Prob right JB.
Coming within 2 wins of a World Series, signing the top bat in free agency and revamping the bullpen. Wouldn’t you be all in?
D D isn’t trading Schwarber, nor should he. First base, unless they could trade for Goldschmidt, isn’t in play. Harper will play there the remainder of this year. D D will trade for a right hand hitting outfielder, to play left field. Rojas has done a good job, in a handful of games, but what his offensive output will be, is unknown. Presently, Bohm is the best right handed hitter in the line- up. A back end starter, and a rh hitting lf, are the two Phillies needs.
If your best answer is “Salary Relief,” then that’s probably what many other GMs are thinking the Phillies would be seeking in the event of a Schwarber deal.
If that’s the case, then the salary relief you’re seeking would likely cost the Phillies either a decent prospect or millions in cash and Schwarber.
Considering the almost $35MM that the Mets sent with Scherzer for a Top 100 prospect, how much cash do you believe the Phillies would have to send to get the defense-first OF that you’re coveting?
Being all in is fine, just dont whine in two years. — We went through it in Boston. Everybody was “all in” and won the WS in 2018. Then no one thought thered be a hangover or how bad it would be. The whining started on day one when Bloom took over, and only recently stopped. 4 years of crying, even though everything he did made sense and was necessary.
As long as the Phillies get a title, that’s all that matters. That’s the goal. This team was irrelevant for 10 years. I hope now with this new scouting regime, they do take a page from the Dodgers and Braves about how to sustain success and not just buy the next best free agent. That’s a recipe doomed to fail in the long run.
I’ve said time and and time again that the ghosts of past regime failures are still here today. It’s been an issue this team has nothing of value in the upper minors to call upon.
Really good conversation with you RSmith. Best wishes!
You’re clueless.
Nobody is trading for Schwarber.
Last year was a lucky fluke. This team isn’t very good.
This is false. The Phillies have been the 2nd best team in baseball since June. They’ve just had a horrific series against Pittsburgh, including their worst loss of the year, but outside of that, they’ve been very good for a very long period of time. Ironically, it’s mainly because of their excellent pitching. The offense has yet to find its groove.
Gotta love the “last year was a lucky fluke”
Right. So I guess when the Braves and Nationals won their titles after being dead to rights in those years, it was a “lucky fluke”
Perfectly said, Von. Don’t need Cron. He’s just a RH version of Schwarber. Besides, how much of his pop is Coors related?
Play Harper at 1B. It’s the least demanding position on the diamond. Harper is a good enough athlete to play the position decently. Will he be Keith Hernandez or Wes Parker? No, but he’ll be good enough.
If we trade for a 1B or 3B, as some have opined, then Harper is our DH. That puts Schwarber back in LF, and I don’t want that.
Neither does D D , so Harper will stay at first and Schwarber will be the everyday dh.
They are not moving Harper back to DH and Schwarber back to left field. Even if they snuck into the playoffs, they just aren’t good enough.
Off-topic: but I was wondering if any Phillie fan could help me understand why Alec Bohm has a WAR of -0.1 when his offensive line stats look decent enough. Is his defense that atrocious??? Or something else making his WAR so low???
It’s one of the reasons way WAR is a flawed stat. Bohm’s defense has improved drastically, but he’s been moved around between 3rd and 1st all year. The lack of a steady position definitely hurts his defense a bit, but also he hasn’t hit for power.
-10 defensive runs saved will definitely damage your WAR. So the answer is yes, his defense really is that atrocious.
As a general rule, a corner infielder with average offense and bad defense will not have a good WAR.
Anyone that watches Bohm play everyday ( that truly understands baseball), can see his defense ( first & third) is not at all hurting the team. The only legitimate knock you can put on Bohm, is he doesn’t hit enough homers for a corner infielder. His batting average and rbi’s, ( not to mention he is the Phillies best clutch hitter), are a positive.
the Sox could use an infielder and/or a pitcher. Perhaps Edmundo Sosa and someone else
Yeah, no. All that does is have us creating a hole to plug a lesser hole. More than anything else the Phillies are light at INF in the upper Minors.
This guy was drafted by the giants system that was starved for outfielders. I think he was a 1B/3B guy they totally flunked his evaluation because as soon as he was traded to the reds I believe for Mike leake he hit like 25 home runs and has continued to hit for power throughout his career while playing mostly decent outfield. Glad he took advantage just bummed we traded him for nothing and we’re basically lost on him even though he was clearly very talented. Had he remained on the giants he would have surely been our best power hitter since bonds.
Don’t you Golden Gate folks use punctuation? You know, periods, commas and the like. Your post made good sense but was difficult to follow since you eschewed punctuation.
I have 4 kids and sometimes I come back to unposted comments. My apologies I’ll try to do better going forward, as it sets a bad example!
Memo to Sam & Dave in Philadelphia ::
No, No, N-O on Duvall.
He is not a difference maker; he is not the difference maker who locks in the #1 Wild Card with home field advantage.
Plus, you have a young righty hitting outfielder with five tools and a world of promise in Rojas.
Don’t go chasing an illusion.
Bellinger
Kyle schwarber lol. The Bloom Red Sox haters often point to him is a huge loss and mistake by Bloom. He hit .218 last year and he’s hitting .185 this year. Yep big mistake to let him walk and sign for big money. Yes he had 46 bombs last year but I’m not sure that offsets the Low batting average.
You left out his -28 OOA Defense in the last year and a half. Do the Phillies know the NL has a DH now?
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/kyle-schwarbe…
They couldn’t use him as DH as planned due to Harper’s injury. Now they can. Hence the desire for an OF bat who can catch the ball. Duvall isn’t the answer though.
I wasn’t thrilled when the Phillies signed him. He has a great clubhouse presence and hits bombs, but he’s absolutely a defensive liability. A fantastic DH option, but that’s it. I think the Red Sox playing so well this year sort of bails Bloom out. I’m still not thrilled with some of the moves Bloom made or didn’t make, but you can’t argue results. The Bosox are solid.
Von – Solid would imply depth, the Red Sox are certainly not a deep team.
You talk about moves Bloom made, let’s look at who has been the driving force behind their recent hot streak:
Casas – Inherited by Bloom
Duran – Inherited by Bloom
Bello – Inherited by Bloom
Crawford – Inherited by Bloom
Devers – Inherited by Bloom
These are the guys Bloom DOES deserve credit for:
Pivetta
Turner
Yoshida
Martin
Jansen
Paxton
Bernardino
Refsnyder
Duvall
Verdugo, Wong and Winck were acquired by Bloom thanks to All-Stars Mookie and 10D, so partial credit to Bloom on those
I’m not counting anybody currently on the IL or any pitcher who hasn’t thrown more than 25 innings.
I think Story is the key, if he comes back next week healthy and able to play SS and hits like he used to hit years ago, that would go a long way in resolving one of the worst middle infields in MLB.
But still, no depth on the bench and nobody in AAA that can come up and contribute. Sox can contend, but they will need a lot of luck (ie: good health) on their side. Getting back two guys Bloom inherited (Sale, Houck) would be huge.
“Verdugo, Wong and Winck were acquired by Bloom thanks to All-Stars Mookie and 10D, so partial credit to Bloom on those”
So Bloom only gets partial credit, for players he brought in himself, because he traded players that were already on the team.
Yet, other GMs gets 100% of the credit for players that Bloom brought to majors, just because years earlier they drafted them.
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Fascinating how his mind works.
Every new GM inherits some players. That’s guaranteed. And new GMs also inherit the payroll structure. The bottom line is that Bloom inherited an 84-win team, with the highest payroll in the league, and probably the worst farm in the league.
I seem to remember DD getting pretty much 100% of the credit for 2018, and Im not disagreeing with that.
But, I dont remember anyone breaking the how acquired/drafted players that made up that team. So under this scrutiny, does DD get full credit for bringing in Chris Sale to help win the WS? Or does someone else get most of the credit, since DD didnt draft either of the top prospects that were traded for him?
By this logic, I think Ben Cherington is owed half of a World Series Ring.
Those guys disappeared like a fart in a hurricane. In all fairness, while the trolls were likely to be wrong, it doesn’t feel like he should be this bad. I love JT, but if he opts out, and the Phillies were willing to pay down Schwarber to $12-14M, I’d certainly think about it for next year.
I’m not so sure that someone would pay $12 million per for him, great leadership and the man hits bombs, but his other numbers are so ugly
Mike – It’s only this year his other numbers are ugly.
Just last year he had an .827 OPS, made the All-Star Team, won a Silver Slugger, and finished 16th in MVP voting.
The year before (2021) he had a .928 OPS.
I think it’s too soon to write off Schwarber. I haven’t gotten to follow him as closely as usual this year, but I think he needs to get moved out of the leadoff spot. It’s ridiculous having a slow power hitter batting first, and he has proven to not perform as well from that spot.
He is a true cleanup hitter, with a career .928 OPS batting cleanup – by far the best numbers from any spot he’s batted in the lineup. As a leadoff guy his OPS is more than 100 points less!
Gary – You easily win the award for most blatantly nonsensical posts.
Exhibit Z: Claiming Schwarber had a bad season last year because of his batting average.
NOBODY with at least a shred of baseball knowledge goes by just BA to judge a player’s performance.
FYI – Last year Schwarber had an .827 OPS, a 131 OPS+, won a Silver Slugger, made the All-Star Team, and finished 16th in MVP voting.
But you go right on trashing every player that leaves the Red Sox because of Bloom, we expect nothing less from you.
Fever I think he led both leagues in strikeouts also. That probably hurts his value.
Gary – Agreed, it does. He still had a 2.6 fWAR which ranked him 26th among all ML outfielders though.
Most power hitters will have a high strikeout rate. Judge led the league in strikeouts the same year he was ROY and runnerup for MVP.
“NOBODY with at least a shred of baseball knowledge goes by just BA to judge a player’s performance.”
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Fever’s too funny. He uses Batting Average ALL THE TIME, but only when it matches his agenda.
Keep duval and trade verdugo
Geezer – The Sox would have to acquire another OF’er if either one gets traded, because they need more than one backup OF and Ref can’t hit RHP to save his life.
I came on here to vent..I do not even want any feedback because reasons!
Aside from the atrocious defense the Phillies have played lately, they now add stupid to their game..
I’ve been triggered for more than awhile.. We have seen some of the worst managing in years from Rob..the other day leaving Swarber in the game late cost the team big.. today, he has the pitcher not giving up a thing thru 5 innings then pulls him..WTF is he seeing that no one else sees? Even the guys in the booth started to stutter..they had no words for this..
If Dombrowski wants to make news at the trade deadline, then fire Thompson.;..that’ll shake up this team..
Dads – Swarber?
Relax, the Phils will make the postseason. Go to Dania Casino, have some fun on their lousy slot machines, and tomorrow is another day.
Could be worse, my team today was just called “ragged” by their announcers because Casas inexcusably let an easy pop fly drop for a double, Devers made a costly error, and they had their usual baserunning blunder when Arroyo inexcusably got doubled off base. We have a manager in Cora that doesn’t give a crap about defense or baserunning fundamentals, it’s brutal following my Red Sox.
Thank God we have good hitters like Turner, who just hit a game-leading homerun in the 8th! He’s our new Papi right now, Mr. Clutch leading MLB in RBI the past couple months.
I’m 5 minutes from the Dania Casino.. I prefer the food and entertainment…
The Phillies are a talented team..you’d never know it with how they play..this brand of baseball is difficult to watch!
Dads – Check out Jaxson’s Ice Cream, about a quarter mile southwest of the casino, it’s excellent.
I live here in Dania Beach.. I volunteer my time to various events held here and get Jackson’s for free.. I’m not a big fan of their “Scream” or their food..It’s a tourist attraction.. People stand in line there…Not for me…
To their benefit, they do donate to these events..I remember on the White Horse Pike was a soft ice cream place near a propane site that was awesome.. Can’t remember the name..
Back to the Phillies.. instead of a right handed bat, I’d like to see a solid arm come to the team.. also, If Seranthony ever becomes a pitcher instead of a thrower, they might have something..
Is Aaron Nola leading the MLB in home runs allowed.. Never mind..what is it now, 23/24?