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Phillies could deal from organizational outfield depth as they look to make upgrades this summer

Símon Muzziotti is putting together a strong season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. (Cheryl Pursell)

After the 2007 season, the Philadelphia Phillies allowed center fielder Aaron Rowand to depart in free agency, and traded another talented young outfielder in Michael Bourn to the Houston Astros as part of a deal that netted them closer Brad Lidge.

Rowand was coming off of a 5.4 WAR season in 2007 and Bourn would go on to make two All-Star Game appearances during an 11-year MLB career, so it wasn’t as though Hall of Fame general manager Pat Gillick didn’t realize he was allowing two very talented players to leave the organization.

But the Phillies had Pat Burrell under contract for one more season, believed Shane Victorino could play center field on a full-time basis and thought some combination of Jayson Werth and a veteran free agent — it ended up being Geoff Jenkins — could take over in right field. Rather than re-signing Rowand and squatting on Bourn, the Phillies chose to invest their resources to more pressing needs on their roster.

By now, you know the outcome. Burrell homered 33 times and posted an .875 OPS in 2008. Victorino and Werth both developed into All-Stars. Lidge, acquired for Bourn, closed out a World Series title in 2008, capping off one of the most dominant seasons a reliever has ever had.

The 2023 Phillies aren’t quite as deep in the outfield as they were in 2007, but with another Hall of Fame-caliber executive now in charge in president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, it feels like a good bet that the team will deal from a surplus of talent in an attempt to win a championship.

Nick Castellanos is generating All-Star buzz with a bounce-back season in 2023, and is under contract through the 2026 season. Kyle Schwarber is having another incredible month of June and is due $40 million over the next two seasons. The Phillies may not have an Andruw Jones-type player in center field, but Brandon Marsh and Cristian Pache both have played strong defense and had some impressive moments in 2023. Neither center fielder will become arbitration-eligible until the 2025 season.

When you also add in the possibility that Bryce Harper returns to right field in some capacity late in 2023 or at the outset of the 2024 season, the Phillies don’t appear like they’ll have openings for any new players in the outfield for at least a couple seasons. And thus, some of the outfielders in the upper levels of the farm system may be expendable.

Between injuries and visa issues, Simón Muzziotti’s ability to develop was limited between 2021 and 2022. However, the 24-year-old is currently putting together a monster season at Triple-A. In 223 at-bats for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Muzziotti is hitting .363 with 30 RBIs, 16 stolen bases and a .900 OPS. That’s on top of elite defense in center field, and the ability to play all three outfield positions.

If the Phillies view Marsh as their long-term left-handed hitting option in center field, this summer may be a perfect time to trade Muzziotti for an area of need elsewhere, not that dissimilar to what they did with catcher Logan O’Hoppe last August. Muzziotti does still have two remaining minor league options, but doesn’t have a path to becoming a regular for the Phillies and given that he has a bit of an injury history, his value may never be higher.

Johan Rojas — who was ranked by Phillies Nation as the No. 5 prospect in the organization prior to this season — may be in a similar situation. After hitting .260 in 60 games at Double-A Reading last season, Rojas is hitting .323 in 257 at-bats this year for the Fightin Phils. The 22-year-old is also a basestealing threat, as he’s swiped 24 bags in 2023.

Because he’s a right-handed hitter, Rojas could theoretically co-exist with Marsh on the Major League roster one day. But right now, Rojas is blocked from playing center field even at Triple-A. And that’s with last year’s first-round pick Justin Crawford hitting .341 at Single-A Clearwater, so there’s another center fielder coming behind Rojas.

On top of all of this, Jake Cave — as we’ve documented on Phillies Nation — is having a monster season for Lehigh Valley. Since being optioned to Triple-A on May 2, Cave has put up staggering production, slashing .394/.470/.768 with 11 home runs, 40 RBIs and a 1.238 OPS. Cave had one defensive run saved in 144 innings split between right and left field for the Phillies in the early going of the season, and has also played some center field since being send down to Triple-A.

At 30 years old, Cave isn’t a prospect, so he certainly wouldn’t headline any trade. But given that he has clearly earned another Major League opportunity, could another contender with a surplus of right-handed corner infield options be interested in taking Cave back as part of a trade? Sure, especially given that he will have one remaining minor league option next season.

It’s ironic, the Phillies traded Victorino to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July of 2012, and went the better part of the next decade without much stability in center field. But they are again in a position where they have an organizational surplus of those capable of playing in center field, which could benefit them if they try to add a right-handed bat and/or starting pitcher in advance of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.