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Phillies No Longer Pursuing Relief Pitching, Focused On Offense

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The Phillies pulled off their big late-inning acquisition, acquiring Jhoan Duran from Minnesota for well-regarded prospects Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told the beat that the Phils will not make any other bullpen moves before tomorrow’s deadline (relayed by Matt Gelb of The Athletic and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). They’re continuing to search for a bat, most likely in the outfield. Jon Heyman of The New York Post adds that they’re seeking a right-handed hitter in particular.

Dombrowski unsurprisingly declared that Duran will take over as Philly’s closer. They’d had a committee approach to the ninth inning in recent weeks. Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering have been their preferred options since Jordan Romano pitched his way out of the early-season closing role. Strahm and Kerkering fit better in setup roles. The Phils will also recall David Robertson within the next couple weeks to work in leverage spots.

Adding an elite arm at the back of the bullpen has been Philadelphia’s priority for weeks. With that accomplished, they can turn their attention to the bottom part of the lineup. Left field is the obvious area to address. The Max Kepler signing has been a bust. Nick Castellanos isn’t performing well in the opposite corner. Second baseman Bryson Stott has also been in a rut offensively, but that’s a more difficult position to address given the scarcity of plus hitters at that position. The Phillies should have more possibilities in the corner outfield, potentially with a goal of flipping Kepler elsewhere in a second trade.

The Phils have been tied to Luis Robert Jr., who at least hits left-handed pitching and has a higher ceiling than Kepler provides. They’ve been linked to Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan, but that’d require surrendering multiple top prospects and seems less likely after the Phils parted with significant young talent for Duran. Ramón Laureano, Davis Schneider and Dane Myers are righty-hitting outfielders who could be available. If the Phillies don’t land a notable acquisition, they’d likely give a look to former first-round pick Justin Crawford. The 21-year-old is hitting .326/.409/.428 with 31 stolen bases in 82 Triple-A games.

Phillies Acquire Jhoan Duran

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The Phillies have acquired closer Jhoan Duran from the Twins in exchange for catching prospect Eduardo Tait and right-handed pitcher Mick Abel. Both teams have officially announced the deal.

Duran was one of the biggest names on this summer’s trade market. He came in at no. 34 on MLBTR’s list of the top 50 trade candidates, but he surely would have ranked higher if it seemed more likely that he’d be dealt. The flamethrowing right-hander is one of the undisputed best closers in the game, with a career 2.47 ERA, 2.48 SIERA, and 74 saves in 83 chances over the past four seasons. Dating back to his rookie season in 2022, he has thrown 233 2/3 innings in 223 games, racking up 292 strikeouts (seventh-most among relievers) with an elite 63.2% groundball rate. His 9.10 Win Probability Added (WPA) ranks third in that same span, trailing only Devin Williams and Félix Bautista. The 1,284 pitches he’s thrown at or above 100 miles an hour (per Statcast) are easily the most in the majors; Mason Miller ranks second with 819. Only 27 years old and arguably pitching better than ever – he’s on pace for career-highs in both the FanGraphs and Baseball Reference versions of WAR – Duran remains under team control via arbitration through the 2027 campaign.

The possibility of the Twins trading Duran began to seem more and more realistic over the past couple of days, with the 51-57 Twins looking to take advantage of a seller’s market and a bevy of contending teams seeking late-inning bullpen help. It was no secret the Phillies were one such club. A few weeks ago, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reported that Duran (and teammate Griffin Jax) would be “prized targets” for Philadelphia, noting that, in contrast to past deadlines, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was prioritizing “controllable big leaguers” and, in particular, a controllable “shutdown, late-inning reliever.” Since Gelb’s initial report, several more sources linked the Phillies to Duran, including Nightengale and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, but the most recent reporting indicated that their refusal to part with top prospect Andrew Painter would ultimately prevent them from landing Duran, with both Nightengale and Rosenthal and Gelb suggesting as much. Evidently, the Twins softened their demands, although there is no doubt the Phillies still paid a high price to acquire their new bullpen ace.

Tait is widely considered a top-100 prospect, ranked 50th by Baseball America, 51st by Baseball Prospectus, and 56th by MLB Pipeline. As BA notes, he is their first top-100 prospect to be traded ahead of the deadline since 2023, and the highest ranked since 2022. Whether or not the Twins achieved their reported goal of landing two top-100 prospects in exchange for Duran depends on which lists you’re looking at; Abel is currently no. 92 on MLB Pipeline’s list, but he dropped off BA’s most recent post-draft rankings and fell off BP’s list after 2023. For what it’s worth, neither Tait nor Abel was included on FanGraphs’ latest top 100 update.

Looking beyond the arbitrary “top 100” cutoff, however, what matters is that the Twins received a pair of highly talented young players, of a caliber rarely seen moved in deadline deals. Tait is a bat-first catcher with big power and a strong throwing arm, but the rest of his defensive game needs significant work. Still, the bat has enough potential that he could succeed in the majors (presumably at first base or DH) even if he doesn’t stick behind the plate. He lit up the competition in the Dominican Summer League and the Florida Complex League in his first two professional seasons, but he hasn’t looked quite as powerful in Single-A and High-A this year. That said, he’s only 18 years old, which is young for his level, and scouting reports matter far more than his numbers right now. Dan Hayes of The Athletic notes that the Twins have “very good” internal grades on Tait.

Abel might not have quite as much upside as he once did, but he has looked much better this year than he did in 2023 or ’24. He has a 2.31 ERA and 3.56 FIP in 13 Triple-A starts, both his best numbers at any level in any year of his professional career. While he looked overmatched at times in his first six MLB starts for the Phillies, his mediocre overall numbers are the combination of three strong starts and three disappointing outings. He’s not there quite yet, but he showed signs that he could soon become a capable big league starting pitcher. Whether that’s a mid-rotation or back-end starter is now up to the Twins, but he has good raw stuff and a deep arsenal for their development and coaching staffs to work with.

Heading into play today, the Phillies ranked 24th in MLB with a 4.33 bullpen ERA and 15th with a 3.82 bullpen SIERA. Their strong starting rotation has helped to limit the bullpen’s workload (their bullpen ranks last in innings pitched), but still, it’s not hard to understand why Dombrowski was looking for a significant upgrade. Philadelphia’s longest tenured reliever, hard-throwing lefty José Alvarado, will be out until mid-August serving a PED suspension, and he won’t be eligible to pitch in the playoffs. Jordan Romano, the team’s primary bullpen acquisition of the offseason, has struggled to a 6.81 ERA. No one knows what to expect from David Robertson, who did not sign with a team until earlier this month. He remained one of the best relievers in baseball at age 39 in 2024, but he essentially started his spring training last week. Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm have provided manager Rob Thomson with a couple of reliable back-end options, but as the Phillies battle with the Mets for the NL East crown and look to contend for a World Series, it’s clear to see why they identified Duran as a major difference-maker.

As for the Twins, there is now no question they are in full sell mode, having dealt Duran and Chris Paddack, whom they sent to the Tigers on Monday. This makes it seem all the more likely that they will soon trade Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, and Danny Coulombe, all of whom are set to hit free agency at the end of the season. However, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand notes that Minnesota is now far more likely to hold on to Jax, their other controllable relief ace. Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune echoed Feinsand’s statement, writing that the Twins have not “ruled out” trading Jax, but their asking price could now be astronomical – perhaps too high for anyone to meet.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report that the two sides were closing in on a trade, while Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first to report that the Twins would receive Tait and Abel in exchange for Duran. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to confirm the agreement.

Photo in article courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images.

Yankees, Mets, Phillies Have Discussed Mason Miller With A’s

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The Yankees, Mets, and Phillies have all engaged in talks with the Athletics regarding closer Mason Miller, reports The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. This update comes 10 days after USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported in no uncertain terms that Miller was off the market. While Rosenthal does not suggest a trade is likely, it seems the A’s are at least entertaining offers.

Any conversations between the A’s and Phillies may have been brief. Rosenthal notes the A’s asked for Philadelphia’s top pitching prospect, Andrew Painter, in return for Miller. But as Rosenthal and colleague Matt Gelb reported earlier today, the Phillies “refuse to even entertain the thought of moving Painter.” Rosenthal and Gelb suggested that the Phillies’ refusal to part with Painter likely eliminates them from the market for Miller or Twins closer Jhoan Duran.

Rosenthal also throws a bit of cold water on the Yankees connection. The A’s, he explains, are seeking top-tier young arms (hence their interest in Painter). Meanwhile, he mentions that the Yankees are “more focused on adding pitching than subtracting it.” In other words, the A’s are presumably seeking close-to-MLB-ready pitchers (as their interest in Painter implies), and the Yankees, who have learned a lot about the value of pitching depth this season, might not be willing to part with the sort of players who meet the Athletics’ criteria.

As for the Mets, they might not be quite as interested in Miller after they dealt for Tyler Rogers this afternoon. Rogers might not have Miller’s closing experience, high ceiling, or years of team control, but he’s arguably having a better season than Miller, and he and Edwin Díaz give the Mets a strong one-two pairing of right-handers at the back end of their bullpen. The Mets also traded for left-hander Gregory Soto last week, so they might now prefer to focus their efforts on improvements in other areas.

All this to say, the chances of Miller being moved this summer still seem slim, but it might not be out of the question. Perhaps if fellow closers Duran or Ryan Helsley fetch a high enough price for the Twins and Cardinals, respectively, the Athletics will be convinced to take advantage of a relatively weak trade market and the high number of contenders seeking bullpen help.

Featured image courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images.

Jhoan Duran Trade Market Picking Up

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3:39pm: The Mariners are also making a run at Duran today, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman, like Nightengale, adds that there is now an expectation that Duran will be moved at some point today.

2:16pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale also writes that there’s a good chance of Duran being moved before the end of the day. Nightengale adds that the Twins have held out for top pitching prospect Andrew Painter in conversations with the Phillies. Philadelphia has been steadfast in not wanting to move Painter in prior trade discussions. It’s a big ask on Minnesota’s part, but that reflects Duran’s affordable control window. Passan had reported last week that the Twins wanted multiple top 100 caliber prospects for either Duran or Jax.

2:07pm: The likelihood of a Jhoan Duran trade seems to be rising. Jon Heyman of The New York Post suggested this afternoon that Minnesota’s talks with other teams on the star closer are “heating up.” Mark Feinsand of MLB.com hears similarly and adds that the Twins could have an agreement on a Duran deal later today.

The Mariners and Yankees have been loosely tied to his market in recent days. Heyman reports that the Phillies and Red Sox are strongly involved and adds the Mets as another team that has at least shown some interest. Jon Morosi of MLB Network adds that the Twins have had conversations with the Dodgers concerning each of Duran, Griffin Jax and Louis Varland. The Blue Jays, Rangers and Padres are among the teams also known to be exploring the market for high-leverage bullpen help — though none has been linked to Duran specifically.

Duran is probably the prize of the reliever market, particularly with Emmanuel Clase no longer an option. The 27-year-old righty throws harder than anyone else in baseball aside from Mason Miller. His four-seam fastball sits in the triple digits, and he averages 97.5 MPH on his absurd sinker/splitter hybrid. Duran’s upper 80s knuckle-curve is an elite pitch in its own right. He has a 2.47 earned run average in parts of four big league seasons. That includes a 2.01 mark through 49 1/3 frames this season. He’s 16-18 in save chances, has struck out more than a quarter of opponents, and is second among relievers (minimum 40 innings) with a monster 65.4% ground-ball percentage.

The Twins are going to move a handful of impending free agents, including lefty reliever Danny Coulombe. The bigger question is whether they’ll trade any of their key controllable pieces. Duran is making $4.125MM and under arbitration control through 2027. Jax, a setup man with even bigger strikeout stuff, is also controllable for two seasons. Varland is still a season away from arbitration and comes with five years of club control, so it’d be very surprising if the Twins trade him.

Minnesota is also getting calls on right-hander Brock Stewart, writes ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The 33-year-old Stewart is playing for barely above the league minimum and has two additional seasons of arbitration control. He has punched out 30% of batters faced en route to a 2.38 ERA across 34 innings. Stewart’s age and notable injury history (elbow discomfort in 2023, arthroscopic shoulder surgery last summer) mean the Twins should be looking to sell high despite the affordable control window.

MLBTR Podcast: Megapod Trade Deadline Preview

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss various trade deadline topics, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • David Robertson, Trade Chips For The O’s and A’s, And What The Rangers Could Do – listen here
  • Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams – listen here
  • Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke, Imagn Images

Phillies Could Consider Move To Bullpen For Jesus Luzardo

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The Phillies have made improving their bullpen the club’s top priority this summer. They already signed David Robertson to help pitch in for the stretch run and into the playoffs, and since then have been connected to a bevy of high-end relief arms ranging from Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran of the Twins to less expensive options like David Bednar of the Pirates and Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals. Matt Gelb of The Athletic provided an update on the state of Philadelphia’s bullpen pursuits today, and part of that update was a report that the club could consider a move to the bullpen for talented lefty starter Jesus Luzardo depending on how the bullpen looks after the deadline.

According to Gelb, it remains “unclear” if the Twins will actually move either Jax or Duran before the deadline and the Phillies have “balked” at Pittsburgh’s asking price for Bednar. That might leave Helsley as the club’s best option to get a deal done, and Gelb suggests that there’s a “potential path” to the two clubs working out a deal that sends the two-time All-Star to Philadelphia. With that said, Gelb also cautions that Helsley is getting widespread interest. That’s not a shock after reporting yesterday indicated that at least half a dozen teams were involved in Helsley’s market, of course, but Gelb notes that the club may have to get “creative” in its efforts to revamp the bullpen if a deal for Helsley cannot be worked out.

That creativity, it seems, could involve Luzardo. The southpaw has had a rollercoaster first season in Philadelphia. After looking like an early-season Cy Young candidate with a 2.15 ERA in 11 starts, the southpaw was blown up for 20 runs in 5 2/3 innings of work across two appearances. He’s settled in somewhat after those disastrous outings, but his ERA in nine starts since then has been a rather pedestrian 4.10. All of this comes against the backdrop of peripherals that are nothing short of elite. Luzardo has a 27.1% strikeout rate, an 8.5% walk rate, a 42.4% ground ball rate, and a 6.6% barrel rate. His ability to strike batters out at a high level while generally keeping the ball on the ground and missing barrels creates a strong overall package, as demonstrated by his 2.97 FIP and 3.56 SIERA.

Impressive as Luzardo’s underlying numbers are, however, it’s undeniable that the Phillies have an excess of rotation options. Luzardo is joined by Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, and Taijuan Walker in the rotation as things stand. Aaron Nola is due to return from the injured list in the near future, and top prospect Andrew Painter has been knocking on the door of the majors all season long. Wheeler, Sanchez, and Suarez are all locked in as the club’s likely Game 1, 2, and 3 starters in a playoff series, and Nola’s innings-eating ability surely won’t be moved out of the rotation either.

That leaves just one spot available for Luzardo, Walker, and Painter. Gelb notes that the Phillies entered 2025 expecting to need to manage Luzardo’s innings in at least some capacity, and while they don’t feel it’s strictly necessary at this point that could still make it easier for them to decide to move Luzardo to relief. Luzardo has a 3.64 ERA in his first time facing the opposing lineup this year, but that rises to 4.03 on the second turn through the order and balloons all the way up to 6.04 on the third. Perhaps the combination of the club’s long-standing plan to manage Luzardo’s innings and his weaker performance after going through the order multiple times could push the organization to try the lefty out as a bullpen piece.

It’s certainly a part of the roster that needs attention, even after signing Robertson. Jordan Romano hasn’t worked out as the club’s closer, and Jose Alvarado was hit with a PED suspension that will render him ineligible for the postseason. Robertson has a phenomenal track record but must be considered a question mark in his age-40 season without a typical Spring Training ramp-up process. Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, and Tanner Banks have all been quality arms, but more help is needed. It’s certainly not hard to imagine Luzardo being able to plug that hole given his impressive stuff that would surely play up even further in a relief setting. Luzardo has 16 relief outings under his belt throughout his career, though he’s pitched out of the rotation exclusively since 2022.

While Luzardo moving to the bullpen could make some sense, it’s certainly not the only way the club could bolster its relief corps—even if none of Duran, Jax, Helsley, or Bednar can be had. Pete Fairbanks, Robert Suarez, Kenley Jansen, and Raisel Iglesias are other hurlers with closing experience who are rumored to be available on at least some level. There’s plenty of interesting non-closers to be had as well, such as Danny Coulombe, Phil Maton, Dennis Santana, Andrew Kittredge, and Anthony Bender. Beyond those veteran names, the Rockies are known to be open to moving many of their young relievers, and it’s even possible that someone like Camilo Doval could be available in the right deal. With so many viable late-inning relief arms available on the market, it would be something of a shock if the Phillies were to strike out on all of them.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/29/25

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Here’s the latest on some players who were recently designated for assignment and cleared waivers, with all info coming from each respective player’s MLB.com profile page…

  • Reliever Chris Devenski elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Mets’ Triple-A team.  New York designated Devenski for assignment last week, and since he has been outrighted in the past, he had the right to reject the Triple-A assignment and return to the open market.  The right-hander signed a minor league deal with the Mets last winter and delivered a 2.38 ERA over 11 1/3 MLB innings, with a solid 6.7% walk rate.  Devenski’s .226 BABIP and 20% strikeout rate weren’t as impressive, which could explain why the Mets took the DFA route instead of optioning Devenski to Triple-A, as they did on three previous occasions this season.  Devenski has enough big league service time that he had to agree to being optioned to the minors, so it could be that he rejected another trip to Syracuse.
  • The Phillies outrighted right-hander Ryan Cusick to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Cusick was DFA’ed three days ago, making the fourth time the righty has been designated this season, though this is the first time he cleared waivers without being claimed away by another team.  The flurry of roster moves has seen the A’s, Tigers, White Sox, and Phillies all have Cusick in their organizations within the last two months, though it appears as he’ll be sticking in Philadelphia for a little while longer.  Cusick has a 7.99 ERA over 23 2/3 combined Triple-A innings this season, and the former first-round pick (selected 24th overall by the Braves in the 2021 draft) is still waiting for his Major League debut.
  • The Royals outrighted outfielder Tyler Gentry to Triple-A Omaha.  Gentry was designated for assignment a week ago as part of the corresponding roster moves to officially add Rich Hill to the K.C. roster.  A third-round pick for the Royals in the 2020 draft, Gentry made his MLB debut in the form of three games and five plate appearances during the 2024 season, but hasn’t since returned to the Show.  Gentry has hit only .205/.277/.365 over 249 plate appearances with Omaha this year.

Ryne Sandberg Passes Away

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Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg has passed away at age 65. The Cubs announced the devastating news on Monday evening. Sandberg had battled metastatic prostate cancer since at least January 2024.

“Ryne Sandberg was a legend of the Chicago Cubs franchise and a beloved figure throughout Major League Baseball. He was a five-tool player who excelled in every facet of the game thanks to his power, speed and work ethic. Ryne earned 10 consecutive All-Star selections, nine straight Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers and 1984 National League MVP honors,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

“Ryne remained active in the game he loved as an ambassador for the Cubs, a manager for the Phillies and in the Minor Leagues, and a frequent participant at the Hall of Fame. His many friends across the game were in his corner as he courageously fought cancer in recent years. We will continue to support the important work of Stand Up To Cancer in Ryne’s memory. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Ryne’s family, Cubs fans everywhere and his admirers throughout our national pastime.”

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts released his own statement of condolences. “Ryne Sandberg was a hero to a generation of Chicago Cubs fans and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise,” Ricketts said. “His dedication to and respect for the game, along with his unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle, and competitive fire were hallmarks of his career. He was immensely proud of his teammates and his role as a global ambassador of the game of baseball, but most of all, he was proud of Margaret, his children and his role as husband, father and grandfather.”

While Sandberg would become an iconic figure in Cubs history, he began his career in Philadelphia. The Phillies signed the Spokane native away from a commitment to Washington State after drafting him in the 20th round in 1978. Sandberg debuted with the Phils as a September call-up in 1981, going 1-6 while appearing in 13 games. His first hit, a single off Mike Krukow as a visitor at Wrigley Field, would be the only one of his major league career that did not come in a Cubs uniform.

During the 1981-82 offseason, the Phillies traded a 22-year-old Sandberg alongside veteran shortstop Larry Bowa to the Cubs for outfielder Iván de Jesús. It was one of the best moves in Chicago’s franchise history. Sandberg opened the season as their starting third baseman. He earned a sixth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year balloting after hitting .271 with 33 doubles and seven home runs. The Cubs acquired six-time All-Star third baseman Ron Cey from the Dodgers the following offseason. Sandberg moved permanently to second base by 1983.

He’d go on to become one of the greatest ever at the position. Sandberg won a Gold Glove in his first full season at the keystone. While he was mostly a light-hitting defensive stalwart in ’83, Sandberg truly broke out offensively in his third year in the big leagues. He batted .314/.367/.520 while leading the National League in runs scored and topping MLB with 19 triples. He hit a matching 19 home runs, two of which were game-tying shots off future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter in the so-called “Sandberg Game” against the Cardinals in June. He reached 200 hits for the only time in his career.

Sandberg won his second straight Gold Glove and led the Cubs to a 96-win season and an NL East title — the franchise’s first playoff berth in 39 years. Sandberg was resoundingly voted the Senior Circuit’s most valuable player. He hit .368 in what was then a best of five NL Championship Series, but the Cubs dropped three straight after taking a 2-0 series lead and fell a game shy of a World Series berth.

That was the first of 10 consecutive All-Star seasons for Sandberg. He won the Gold Glove nine straight times between 1983-91 while claiming the Silver Slugger in all but two years from 1984-92. He hit .306 with 26 longballs and a career-high 54 stolen bases as a follow-up to his MVP season.

After a trio of relatively average seasons with the bat in the mid-1980s, he had a four-year resurgence as one of the best hitters in MLB. Sandberg finished fourth in MVP balloting in both 1989 and ’90. He led the Cubs back to the playoffs in ’89, where he hit .400 in a losing effort against the Giants in the NLCS. The 1990 campaign was arguably the best of Sandberg’s career. He led National Leaguers with a career-high 40 home runs and paced the NL with 116 runs scored. He drove in 100 runs in consecutive seasons in 1990-91.

The Cubs signed Sandberg to a four-year, $28.4MM extension going into the ’92 season. That made him MLB’s highest-paid player at the time, and he responded with a monster .304/.371/.510 showing with 26 homers and 87 RBI. He hit .309 in 1993 but was off to a very slow start to the ’94 season. Sandberg shockingly announced his retirement that June, later explaining that he’d lost the drive to play every day and felt he’d be doing a disservice to the organization, fans and himself by playing at less than 100%. He sat out the ’95 season before making a comeback, finishing his playing career with two more seasons in Wrigleyville.

Sandberg retired for good after the 1997 campaign. He finished his illustrious career with a .285/.344/.452 batting line. Sandberg tallied 2386 hits, drilled 282 home runs, and drove in more than 1000 runs. He topped 400 doubles, hit 76 triples, and stole 344 bases. He ranks fourth in Cubs history in hits, fifth in homers, and seventh in runs batted in. According to Baseball Reference, only Cap Anson and Ron Santo had more Wins Above Replacement in a Cubs uniform among position players.

That kind of production from a middle infielder is almost unheard of — much less from as sure-handed an infielder as Sandberg was. Among second basemen, only Roberto Alomar topped Sandberg’s nine Gold Gloves. He still ranks fifth all time at the position in career home runs, surpassed only by Jeff Kent, Robinson Canó, Rogers Hornsby and Craig Biggio. Sandberg is 11th among second basemen in bWAR and by Jay Jaffe’s JAWS score, which measures a player’s career value and peak seasons as a proxy for his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Sandberg’s numbers compared favorably to other Hall of Famers at the position. It took three years on the ballot, but he was deservedly voted into Cooperstown in 2005. The Cubs retired his #23 not long after his Hall of Fame induction. Sandberg took a managerial position in their farm system a year later, hoping to eventually work his way up to manage the franchise with which he’d starred.

While that never came to pass, Sandberg did get an opportunity to manage his former team in Philadelphia. The Phillies hired him on an interim basis after firing Charlie Manuel midway through the 2013 season. Sandberg signed a three-year contract to take the position permanently the following offseason. He resigned during the 2015 campaign when the rebuilding club had a 26-48 record, finishing with a 119-159 record overall. He returned to the Cubs in a part-time instructional role and worked with the team as recently as this past Spring Training.

On top of his laundry list of on-field accomplishments, Sandberg was held in high esteem by teammates, fans and colleagues for his work ethic and humility. The Cubs will wear a jersey patch honoring him for the remainder of the season. His legacy will live on far beyond this year in the memories of generations of fans within and outside Chicago. MLBTR joins others throughout the game in sending condolences to Sandberg’s family, loved ones, friends and the countless people whose lives he impacted.

Image courtesy of David Banks, Imagn Images.

Phillies Interested In Luis Robert Jr, Still Prioritizing High-End Reliever

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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.

Phillies Interested In Eugenio Suarez

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The Phillies have had some talks with the Diamondbacks about third baseman Eugenio Suarez, according to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  It isn’t clear whether or not the discussions are anything more than due diligence on the Phillies’ part, but Philadelphia can now be added to a lengthy list of teams with some degree of interest in the slugger.

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman raised Suarez as a “potential fit” for the Phils yesterday, since the club is in need of third base help with Alec Bohm on the 10-day injured list.  Putting Suarez in between the powerful left-handed hitting duo of Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber would only add more balance and pop to the lineup, and make it even harder for opposing pitchers and managers to navigate through what is already a dangerous Philadelphia lineup.

Since Bohm is expected back from his fractured rib roughly halfway through August, however, Lauber notes that adding Suarez would create a bit of a positional logjam.  Harper and Schwarber have the first base and DH spots locked down, so there would be nowhere for Bohm and Suarez to both play unless Schwarber was moved into left field.  Harper doesn’t appear to be a candidate for a return to outfield work, as Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski stated last month.

Speculatively, the Phillies could clear space by trading Bohm himself, though such a deal would naturally be trickier since Bohm is on the IL.  It is possible Bohm could head to Arizona as part of a Suarez trade package, as adding Bohm would help the D’Backs fill some at-bats at first base since Josh Naylor has been traded, and Bohm could provide cover at third base if Jordan Lawlar runs into more struggles at the MLB level.  Bohm is arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter, so this extra year of team control might appeal to the Diamondbacks or other teams looking for corner infield help.

Since the Diamondbacks are also shopping several of their outfielders, it is possible the two sides could work out a multi-player deal that would see the Phillies add both Suarez and some outfield help in one fell swoop.  Lauber writes that Arizona was scouting Mick Abel’s most recent Triple-A start, which again could be due diligence or a signal that the D’Backs (known to be pursuing pitching) have a particular interest in Abel as a trade chip.

Dombrowski is no stranger to bold trades, so the Phillies can’t be entirely ruled out for Suarez until the dust settles.  Money won’t be a factor, as the Phils have already shown they’re more than willing to break the bank in pursuit of a championship.  Suarez is still owed roughly $5.2MM of his $15MM salary for the 2025 season before he heads into free agency.  Since the Phillies are already over the highest level ($301MM) of luxury tax penalization, they’ll pay a 110% tax on every dollar spent beyond the $301MM threshold, so Suarez’s real price tag for the Phillies will be more than $10.5MM.

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