When Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson met with the media at 3:45 p.m. ET Tuesday, he was asked if he expected the club to make any more trades in the remaining two hours and change before the deadline.
“Not really, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said. “If there is something, it might be a small thing, but there’s nothing that has come across my desk.”
As it turned out, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made two moves in the final hour before the 6 p.m. ET trade deadline.
Deal 1: Phillies acquire LHP Tanner Banks from the Chicago White Sox for SS William Bergolla Jr., the No. 11 prospect in the organization.
Deal 2: Phillies trade LHP Gregory Soto to Orioles for RHP Seth Johnson, the No. 8 prospect in Baltimore’s farm system, and RHP Moisés Chace.
Here’s everything you need to know about the two trades.
Why Do The Phillies Think Banks Is An Upgrade In The Bullpen Over Soto?
Banks was a rather out-of-the-blue addition, but the more that you dig into him, you start to see why the Phillies liked the 32-year-old.
“We’ve liked Banks for a long time,” Dombrowski said. “Our people have pushed for him. We like his stuff. He’s really been effective vs. left-handed pitchers this year. He’s been one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball in that regard. So we thought he was a better fit for our bullpen at this time than Soto was.”
The Phillies view Banks as someone who could give them multiple innings out of the bullpen, but they don’t plan to use him as a starter. His 4.13 ERA over 41 appearances this season doesn’t stand out, but what does is that left-handed batters are hitting just .184 against him this season. His presence could be crucial in the NL playoffs, where the Phillies could face the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson in high-leverage situations.
Also of note is that because Banks didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 30, he doesn’t even become arbitration eligible until 2026, and can’t become a free agent until after the 2028 season.
Dombrowski did say that the Phillies wouldn’t have traded Soto without acquiring Banks. But they landed Banks between 5:15 and 5:30, and then circled back to the teams who had called previously on Soto. Keeping Soto wasn’t a consideration after Banks was acquired because the Phillies felt they would be too left-handed in the bullpen, when you also add in José Alvarado and Matt Strahm.
The Phillies acquired Soto — a two-time All-Star — from the Detroit Tigers in January of 2023 along with Kody Clemens in exchange for Matt Vierling and Nick Maton. Soto had some really impressive stretches with the Phillies, but the same control issues that plagued him in Detroit and the tendency for occasional blowups kept him from reaching his ceiling. Soto finished his Phillies tenure with a 4.42 ERA and 3.59 FIP in 112 games.
Dombrowski doesn’t necessarily look at Soto’s tenure as disappointing, but acknowledged he may be a better fit in a situation where he gets the chance to close.
“Well, he pitched overall OK when you look at his numbers,” Dombrowski said of Soto. “We didn’t necessarily get him as a closer. I think a lot of times he envisions himself as a closer, which is fine. But when you look at it, he’s done fine for us by all means. We weren’t dissatisfied with him. But the way we use our ‘pen, I’m just not sure that there ever was a way that he felt comfortable in that regard.”
Soto played catch with his son in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday afternoon, shortly after the aforementioned meeting that Thomson had with the media. He was seemingly preparing for another outing in red pinstripes. Less than two hours later, he was informed that he had been traded to the Orioles, reunited with Craig Kimbrel and Seranthony Domínguez.
What Do The Phillies Like About Seth Johnson And Moisés Chace?
Johnson was a first-round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Campbell University in North Carolina. According to MLB Pipeline, he was the No. 8 prospect in Baltimore’s system entering the day. That’s saying something considering the amount of young talent general manager Mike Elias has assembled.
But Johnson doesn’t have the typical profile of someone who is in Double-A. He’s 25, and was on the 40-man roster for the O’s. Johnson was 0-6 for the Bowie Baysox this season, but he has a 2.63 ERA and has struck out 61 batters in 65 innings. The Phillies are excited about his addition to the organization.
“Seth Johnson is a guy, he’s coming off of surgery a couple years ago, so he’s bouncing back from Tommy John,” Dombrowski said. “He was a high pick. He was the 40th pick in the country at one time [2019], a really high pedigree coming out of college. So he’s got good stuff, throws in the mid-90s, good solid pitcher.”
Johnson’s innings are being closely monitored this season after he pitched just 10 1/3 innings a year ago when he was working his way back from Tommy John surgery. The Phillies believe he’ll be a starter at the MLB level, though.
As for Chace, the 21-year-old righty out of Venezuela had a 3.81 ERA across 52 innings for the Aberdeen IronBirds, the High-A affiliate of the Orioles. The Phillies, according to Dombrowski, believe he has the potential to start in the majors some day.
“Great arm,” Dombrowski said. “[He’s a] developing pitcher. He’s pitched well. We just saw him pitch a couple days ago against our Jersey Shore club and he threw the ball very well. He’s pitched exceptionally well recently if you look at his numbers.”
Johnson will go to Double-A Reading and Chace will head to High-A Jersey Shore.
How Protective Were The Phillies Of Top Prospects Were The Phillies?
The Phillies didn’t make the chips-to-the-center type of deal some fans hoped for leading up to the July 30 trade deadline. That’s partially because it wasn’t a great year to do that. Earlier in the year, it seemed like Luis Robert, Garrett Crochet, Ryan Helsley and Pete Alonso could all be traded. For various reasons, none were.
But there’s also a reality that the club is trying to balance competing for a World Series in 2024 while also building the type of pipeline that’s allowed a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers to be successful for such a sustained period.
Could the Phillies have acquired Robert, for example, if they had been willing to include one or more of their recent first-round picks in Andrew Painter, Justin Crawford and Aidan Miller? Probably, but that might not have been the right move in the long run.
“Well, we have some guys that we really didn’t want to trade,” Dombrowski said. “Our upper echelon of guys. That’s why I’m absolutely thrilled we made the moves that we made.
“I know we gave up some talent. But we also have those guys and [Starlyn] Caba and some other guys that we’re extremely high on. We feel like we really have a good ball club and our farm system continues to get better.”
How Do The Phillies Feel About Their Deadline As A Whole?
In the end, the Phillies acquired Austin Hays, checking off their list of a right-handed outfield bat. They also landed Carlos Estévez, arguably the top reliever who was moved. They feel Banks will be a better fit in the bullpen than Soto, and used the latter to restock the farm system a bit.
After acquiring Hays, the Phillies were still open to the idea of landing a right-handed hitting center fielder that would play minimally, according to Dombrowski. No such option that fit that bill emerged. And the Phillies remain intrigued by Johan Rojas’ tremendous athleticism, even if there are serious questions about him as a hitter.
Ultimately, this trade deadline — and this season as a whole — will be judged by how the Phillies fare in October. They didn’t acquire any superstars in the lead up to the trade deadline, but Dombrowski believes that the pieces that the Phillies did add will help set the Phillies up to maximize what may be their best opportunity to win a World Series.
“So overall, we really like what we’ve done,” Dombrowski said. “We have a good club. I know we haven’t played very well recently, but I think that’s gonna straighten out.”
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