The Phillies have been connected to a number of impact position players this summer. Reportedly, the club has already expressed interest in Guardians All-Star Steven Kwan and has interest in Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez as well. Now, Ari Alexander of KPRC2 reports another star player the Phillies have interest in: Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox. That apparent interest in bolstering the lineup doesn’t necessarily mean Philadephia is focused on that sort of addition, however. Even with rumors connecting Philadelphia to a number of significant hitters, Matt Gelb of The Athletic writes the the club’s priority remains adding a “high-end” relief arm even after they signed David Robertson last week.
Robert, an All-Star back in 2023 who has struggled in each of the past two seasons with injury and ineffectiveness, has hit .206/.293/.343 (76 wRC+) this season. He’s hit incredibly well (.325/.426/.500 with a 159 wRC+) since coming off the injured list, however, and that performance has been enough to convince the White Sox to take a hard stance on their asking price for his services. Robert certainly won’t keep that torrid pace up, but at his best he was a 129 wRC+ hitter, with a .287/.331/.511 slash line in 311 games between 2021 and ’23. While Robert would be a massively valuable addition to the Phillies if he were able to bounce back to that form, it would be a substantial gamble for a club that is looking to patch a hole in the lineup caused by unproductive seasons by talented outfielders like Max Kepler and Johan Rojas to bring in yet another talented outfielder in the middle of an unproductive season, particularly given the White Sox’s asking price.
Perhaps those concerns are (at least in part) why the Phillies remain focused on acquiring bullpen help even after signing Robertson, a veteran of 16 MLB seasons who has pitched to a 2.82 ERA with 40 saves over the last three years. Robertson is a talented reliever, but even the most talented players can face a steep cliff at age-40. Between Robertson’s age and the fact that he missed the first half of the season, the club has no guarantee he’ll offer the sort of shutdown production in high-leverage situations that he’s been able to provide in the past. Fortunately for the Phillies, there are a large number of extremely talented high-leverage arms being dangled this summer. Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals, Mason Miller of the A’s, Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax of the Twins, Emmanuel Clase and Cade Smith of the Guardians, and David Bednar of the Pirates are just some of the elite relief arms who have seen their names floated in the rumor mill in recent days.
While many of those controllable arms likely won’t end up moving when all is said and done, the number of teams at least willing to listen on players of that caliber affords Philadelphia (and other buyers) plenty of flexibility as they figure out how best to improve their roster this summer. The Phillies have plenty of reason to be aggressive with key pieces like Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suarez, and J.T. Realmuto set to hit free agency, to say nothing of ace Zack Wheeler’s impending retirement after the 2027 season. Perhaps that motivation will convince the club to pay a high price for the help of a controllable relief ace, although it’s also possible that the club could benefit from spreading its prospect capital across multiple deals in order to maximize the 2025 roster as much as possible.
The pursuit of high-end bats also offers a backup plan in case the Phillies are unable to secure any of the top closing options. With Robertson already in the fold as an experienced closer, perhaps the Phillies could pivot to second-tier options like Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias or Twins southpaw Danny Coulombe and trust the tandem of that addition and Robertson to handle high leverage duties in the bullpen. The theoretical prospect capital saved by acquiring one of those arms relative to the top options could then be used in a trade for a significant bat like Suarez or Robert, offering a solid Plan B that could have just as much impact as acquiring one of the market’s top relievers in the event that asking prices remain prohibitively high on those players.
We need a big Monday trade please!
Manic Monday?
Phillies looking at Robert Jr is interesting because that’s the Mets number one Target. Phillies need to bring Trout home he’s not the same player but will definitely bring some excitement. IMO Kwan should be everybody’s prime player. The Yankees should definitely do whatever it takes for him. They desperately need a legitimate lead-off hitter. Jones, Lombard, Volpe, whatever it takes, especially since all Yankees fans know they will be cheap again and not go after Tucker this Off-season
That is not the main target. Thats merely an option. Youre following incorrectly the wrong NY team.
The Phillies need Jackson Merrill.
Everything posted on this site by the employees here and the commenters is urging the Phillies to self destruct and disappear for a decade.
Why would the padres even consider trading merrill unless they’re getting the top 4 Phillies prospects in return
That makes more sense, way, way, way more sense than dealing those prospects out for relievers and bat rentals at the deadline every year.
You can’t be serious about Trout?
1) He’s still owed more money than anyone on the team other than Turner
2) He’s a fragile player who, even when healthy, puts up half the numbers he used to
3) Excitement? CBP is packed every night with excitement.
I swear, there will be some realistically suggesting they sign Trout AFTER his Angels deal expires. All because he was a great player who grew up a couple hours away from the stadium. .
The people who say trout on the Phillies forget that he’s on a 400 million contract
It’s like the Giancarlo Stanton situation back in 2017 where no matter how good the player is no one can trade for that contract
You are so right. I like Trout but he can stay in an Angels uniform. I actually don’t think he’d like being in Philly. Too much pressure for a guy that plays in front of a Luke warm fan base.
He isn’t even close to being the Mets number 1 target.
“Phillies looking at Robert Jr is interesting because that’s the Mets number one Target.”
Lmao. I’m not sure where on earth you got this information, but I sincerely doubt it. I assume you just made it up.
Sox likely willing to trade Robert and good veteran high end reliever to Phillies if they return a great prospect!
Pass. Jimenez 2.0
The Mets can have Robert jr. The Phillues would be replacing Kepker @.204 vs Robert @ .205. Trout would be good to have if you want to fill up your DL. No thanks just bring up Crawford
Be careful of what you want or wish for.
See to believe that Robert gets traded, but I’ll be happy to be wrong.
The price will come down for Roberts to be traded. No one is paying a steep price for him after his last two seasons. Kwan, a big yes and if available Duran too but not Roberts.
How do people still want LRJR at this point? He is a reclamation project. Low floor medium ceiling at best.
This guy is worthless. Castellanos has far more trade value. To take Robert’s contract a team needs Kyle Teel in return.
Robert has been in the league 6 seasons. In all 6 seasons, he has had a higher bWAR than Castellanos. Casty isn’t half the p[ayer Robert is. Robert is much more injury-prone, but a much better player.
Joe – And yet, there isn’t a coach or GM that would take the last 6 of Robert over Castellanos. Because when you are slotting in a bench player is for him half the time what’s the point how high the ceiling is. You understand the appeal of raw talent, but one of the best abilities is availability… which he doesn’t excel at.
No matter how well you catch the ball, if you cannot hit then you are a replacement level player.
HITTING is the difference maker. Robert has proven that he cannot hit.
What contract? A team can pick up his option for 20mil or buy it out for 2mil
I don’t think you trade for him and give up decent prospects unless you expect to pick up those club options because then it just becomes a rental.
Although I do think he has underperformed his ceiling due to being on a non-competitive team, I don’t think he’s show the value of 2/40 remaining via club options.
The reds need help against lefties, he’s at the bottom of my list but if they don’t get any of the other guys I’d rather have him than Joe.
I forget which GM said it, but the quote was something like “there are two times to acquire players: when they’re free agents, or when they’re playing poorly.”
Not when they have been playing poorly for five years.
You missed that part.
“spreading its prospect capital”
Equals ten year rebuild. Guarantees no success whatsoever.
Tigers were a total DUMBrowski bonfire that took a decade to dig themselves out of.
I think that has more to do with Avila being a disaster. Dombrowski left the Tigers farm barren in an effort to win a championship. Avila drafted poorly for years and didn’t do well in trades
@ Heels On The Field:
You’re giving Dombrowski far too much blame.
He won 2 titles with the Marlins (the second shortly after he left, but it was mostly with players he acquired before leaving)
He then came to Detroit and during that tenure, led them to 5 playoff appearances (The Tigers hadn’t been to the playoffs in 14 years prior) including 2 World Series, although they lost both.
He then went on to Boston and won a World Series title there.
He’s had similar success with Philly, although no title yet.
He puts winners on the field, sometimes at the expense of the future, sure, but winners nonetheless.
That Detroit spent a decade plus as losers after he left is not his fault. Put that blame on the next management teams and the fact that Mike Illitch passed several years after Dave’s departure and the new ownership became penny pinchers.
I’ve never seen the Red Sox disappear for so long as they did after DUMBrowski took the helm. It’s like the Yankees paid him to go there and destroy Boston.
Lol that’s just incorrect. They disappeared after DD because they fired him and replaced him with Bloom and Breslow, guys who are first time head of baseball ops and overmatched when it comes to building a winning team in Boston.
If DD was running the show in Boston, 2020-now looks very, very different.
And again, look at the fact that the next management seemed poor and the ownership seems to have become a little cheaper since Dombrowski left.
That’s because instead of reinvesting the profits that the Red Sox generated in the team, they reinvested it in other parts of their portfolio. It’s clear that they didn’t care about winning championships in Boston after 2018.
In a league without a hard salary cap, your cheap teams will rarely win it all. The teams which can have a good development pipeline and spend in FA to address the biggest holes are the ones that will have the most success.
Joemo
They disappeared after DD because they fired him and replaced him with Bloom and Breslow
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They disappeared because they had the highest payroll in the league and the #30 farm. That was in addition to having their two big extensions in Sale and Eovaldi fizzle out.
It was great that we got the WSC, but DD left us in pretty bad condition.
Nearly everyone that DD traded did not amount to anything in the major leagues (some exceptions such as Margot, Santiago Espinal, and one cna argue Koepch/Moncada but those were part of the Kimberl, Pearce and Sale trades. Even then they amount to not much).
The Red Sox had a high payroll and a 30th ranked farm system because they had a ton of young players (Betts, Bradley, Benintendi, Bogaerts, Devers, Vazquez) graduate to the major league team.
He did miss on some drafts, don’t get me wrong, but here’s some players that were acquired during his tenure: Duran, Rafaela, Casas, Bello. So it’s not as bad as you think.
If DD was in charge, the team would have been trying to compete and win games instead of whatever Bloom was doing.
Joemo
1 hour ago
Nearly everyone that DD traded did not amount to anything in the major leagues (some exceptions such as Margot, Santiago Espinal, and one cna argue Koepch/Moncada but those were part of the Kimberl, Pearce and Sale trades. Even then they amount to not much).
The Red Sox had a high payroll and a 30th ranked farm system because they had a ton of young players (Betts, Bradley, Benintendi, Bogaerts, Devers, Vazquez) graduate to the major league team.
He did miss on some drafts, don’t get me wrong, but here’s some players that were acquired during his tenure: Duran, Rafaela, Casas, Bello. So it’s not as bad as you think.
If DD was in charge, the team would have been trying to compete and win games instead of whatever Bloom was doing.
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I agree that DD inherited a lot of great young talent. 2018 was more about Theo than anyone else. But JD and Sale pushed us over the top. I had no problem with the trades overall.
But we won 84 games in 2019, with the #1 payroll, and the #30 farm. Unless Henry was going to authorize LAD-level spending, we weren’t going to win anything.
Actually the Phillies farm system has gotten a lot stronger in the time DD has been here despite signing free agents and being near the bottom of the draft each year.
Whenever you see someone use the derogatory “Dumbrowski”, simply stop reading the drivel and move on.
Any team will take him if cost is low enough like a teams 10th best prospect. He likely goes to Mets for two low level pitchers
His contract is massive! Otto Kemp is worth two orders of magnitude more than Robert. Even Kyle Teel isn’t enough to take that contract. He’s like Rojas if Rojas had a fat contract.
Wrong, his contract is not massive. He has about $5M left for this season, which has been reported the Sox will pay most of that down. Then it’s a TEAM option if they want to pick up has $20M next year otherwise it’s a $2M buyout.
I think Rojas is greatly over-criticized. The team has and continues to dent his confidence and give him limited at bats, mostly against lefty starters.
I don’t mind the platoon with marsh but I like Rojas’ numbers the next 5 years over Robert, and that’s straight up before factoring in Robert’s salary. Phils could spend elsewhere.
Rojas is not a major league hitter. He should be in AAA. Robert is always hurt, and outside of the one good year in 2023, he isn’t a starting cf, on a good team. Whoever trades for Robert will regret it before the season is over.
As a White Sox fan, I hate to say it, but I would rather pick Saurez over Robert.
I vote to keep Robert, pay the $2 million buyout for next season, then try to re-sign him for a salary below the current $20 million team option.
Or maybe package Robert with a top relief pitcher for Justin Crawford and then resign Robert in the off season if he’s available.
Robert has almost no value right now so adding a random relief pitcher adds up to lottery ticket returns and not top 100 prospect capital
The White Sox not having a top relief pitcher would seem to be a flaw in that plan.
I think the Phillies acquirer Robert it should be for PTBNLs. Have the CWS narrow it down to a handful of prospects and base it on his performance for the remainder of the year for one level of prospect(s) and if the Phillies sign him at a lower salary for 2026.for a different level. If he blossoms you get first crack at him in the offseason, If not you walk away.
Unless you can steal Robert, I have no interest in him. Yes he is an upgrade from Max Kepler, but we need more than a slight upgrade. Brian Reynolds would be perfect, but I’m sure that’s not gonna happen. Suarez is my hope
Robert is an enigma. He could be a slight upgrade or go on a tear and be a massive upgrade. That is the bet a team will make
No no no no no no no
Mama Mia! Mama Mia!
I think Phillies will acquire Helsley. They prefer closer signed beyond this yr but that takes both teams to make deal. Get Helsley and add a RH bat.
I’m leaning towards Bednar.
Serious question: Why don’t the Phillies play Edmundo Sosa in the OF? He is kind of streaky and can be exposed by certain pitchers, but he is plenty athletic and pretty likely to outhit their current outfielders.
Because he’s not an OF and his bat usually gets exposed with increased playing time. His superpower is his versatility and you take that away putting him in the OF, especially at a time where he can play a role as 3B (with Bohm out) and platoon partner with Stott and get plenty of ABs.
Right on all counts!!
White Sox aren’t picking up that option. Probably a July 31 5:59pm trade. The only question is how meager will the return be.
Yankees need pitching more than upgrade in outfield. While it may call for an Alcantara, I’m expecting at minimum a Nestor reunion but it’ll cost them a bullpen arm. Astros definitely need a Keller, Tigers could use a Lowe but I doubt they trust the Rays after that Meadows deal…
Astros don’t have the price to pay for Keller.
Bednar and Keller for Crawford and Mercado call it a deal nice doing business.
The Phillies aren’t trading for Keller. Nola will be back in 2 weeks or so. Painter is a “phone call” away. Bednar is a definite possibility.
Haven’t the Phillies been connected to Robert ever since the 2023 deadline?
Yes
Taylor Ward, Kenley Jansen, perhaps a little cash for Abel, Otto Kemp, and a prospect.
Lol.
No, the Phillies should not trade Otto Kemp. He is a good fit on the team.
By that, do you mean decent dancer, has fun, sorta macho, loves Jesus and his bat completely shuts down during the playoffs? Oh I see…
Jansen is the “reincarnation” of Kimbrel. He will self destruct in October. Taylor Ward is the best outfield rh bat available. The question would be how much?
I will double the offer of the Philles make on behalf of the Orioles
I’m baffled on why Phi would trade for Robert instead of just calling up Crawford. I would bet Crawford can clear a .204 BA, and without the injury risk to boot
The overall ceiling is higher for Robert than Crawford. Calling Crawford up before the trading deadline can only hurt his value. And finally, trading for Robert doesn’t block an untraded Crawford; Robert platoons in LF with Marsh while Crawford plays CF.
I’ll take the 21 year old hitting .327/.409/.430 with All Star family genes over the 28 year old (in a few days) who’s had one above average year in his career, and going to be let go anyways, at about a $5M clip tbh.
Exactly! Robert had one fantastic year and has been mediocre since then yet people talk like they’re getting him from years ago. Does he come with a Time Machine?
Agreed and I think the Phillies are looking more for a power bat.
I know it’s a small sample of two years and seven games but Roberts playoff stats are excellent.
Neither fill the Phillies need for a legitimate right handed power bat. Dumbrowski will hopefully replace Max and finally get his 1,2,3 closer.
I would bet Crawford can clear a .204 BA
==============================
I would bet that Robert does as well. GMs look at a lot more than the back of the BB card stats. Robert’s xwOBA is .322. The league-wide wOBA is .313. That makes Robert expected contribution to be slightly above average. Add that to his fielding, and the fact that he bats RH, that makes him a strong match.
In addition, Robert’s OPS since the end of May is .758, with a sustainable .294 BABIP.
Philly should expect an above-average player that fits perfectly.
Rather see Kwan, Stowers, Bader. .Duran would have been great. Robert is not a bat upgrade on the season. he’s at .204 kepler .205.
That is correct. Robert is a strikeout machine, and a .200 hitter that is regularly on the il!!
Bag of balls, 25th ranked prospect.
The floor with Robert is he gives you gold glove CF and the ability to steal bases. The bet your making is, if he actually for once in his MLB career was in a lineup that had hitters that other teams feared and had some protection behind him and winning atmosphere he’d see better pitches to hit.
Why don’t they just call up Justin Crawford?
If he’s still in the organization this week, they will. Until then, let him continue to rake AAA pitching and maintain his value.
Clase suspended through August at least.
Mr. Robert belongs on same team as Mr. Jimenez. Overrated as a trade candidate and ballplayer,no hustle, bad body language and complacent attitude. Losing culture has taken its toll. Beware GMs.
Instead of pursuing Robert who is hitting .204, the Phils should be promoting Justin Crawford who is hitting .327 with a 409 OB% and 39 SBs at AAA Lehigh Valley. A player doesn’t go as far downhill as Robert has in the past 2 seasons for no reason. The Phils shouldn’t get locked into another expensive contract at this stage of the game just to find out what problems Robert may have.. A kid playing center field and hitting like Crawford deserves a look before the Phils invest any more money in outfield experiments. Paying millions to Hays and Kepler should have taught the Phils something. No one would argue If the Phils want to add a proven right-handed bat to the lineup, but Crawford deserves a shot now.
In an unrelated matter, I would like to personally congratulate Bryson Stott on the birth of his son, and thank him profusely for getting rid of that lame AOK walkup song which actually made him look like a tried and true bubble gum lightweight. I would now suggest he grows the stash out ala Rollie Fingers and keeps the mutton chops, but gets rid of the rest of the scraggly facial hair. With the right look, he may actually start reaching his potential. If nothing else, others will start taking him seriously.
Maybe the Mets could offer Ryan Clifford and Drew Gilbert for LRJ. Not a top prospect(s) but the Wsox’s biggest black hole in their farm is OF.
Please God, no
The Phils need to jettison Kepler and Romano, call up Crawford , trade Rojas (and Marsh?) for anything, move Luzardo to the BP ( he gets figured out the second time through the lineup as a starter) , call up or trade Abel and pick up a closer and an OF if possible.They also should use Sosa more and Stott less.
white sox missed their deadline to get value out of robert’s a long time ago
Mmm, I don’t know. I don’t like the hair.
Phillies could trade for Jesus Sanchez and Harrison Bader and solve their left field problem. Then bring up Crawford to split time with Marsh in center. Or if you get Robert for cheap, keep him and marsh in center and don’t bring up Crawford yet.
As an insurance policy, I’d trade for Willi Castro, I’d find a spot in the line up for him. Maybe 3rd until Bohm gets back, if they don’t trade him. Third base will be a hole for them if Bohm’s injury lingers. Castro is a nice switch hitter that is versatile in the field. He could even spell Stott at second against lefties.
Then get three bullpen pieces of the following: columbe, Dennis Santana, Cade Smith, Phil Maton and/or Chapman. None really break the bank but a couple will fetch a good prospect or two. That’s the 7th, 8th and 9th innings to join Kirkering and Strahm and eventually Robertson (if he pans out). If you need a fifth starter as insurance for Nola not coming back or just no more confidence in Walker which is understandable then go get a guy like Zac Eflin. He is a good fifth to help get to the playoffs.
Oof, plate discipline?
Phil’s should be selling….move Schwarber and Realmuto while you can get a return on them…we’re not getting out of the first round WC if we make the playoffs at all. No need to go into a decade long spiral again hanging on to guys that are entering the decline years.
Troll?
Lol….yeah. Just an old Phil’s fan that goes back to the late 70’s that has seen the decade and a half lapses in truly good teams and the tendency to pay to handcuff themselves with old under performing guys because they were in a ws once. This team is just not good enough and there isn’t anything out there that will make them a WS team without selling the farm. The two I mentioned are in contract years. You want them around for another 3 or 4 years? I’m getting up there…I might not have 10 years to wait for the next legit contender…so I am bias I guess. Build for the next couple seasons and take it for what it is….