Prior to the Aug. 2 trade deadline, Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made four additions in hopes of bolstering the team’s chances to secure one of the three Wild Card spot in the National League.
As the Phillies come down the home stretch of the 2022 regular season, here are our grades on how the four additions have performed to this point:
Brandon Marsh: B+
Since being acquired by the Phillies, Marsh has played better defensively than any Phillies center fielder since Shane Victorino.
On top of that, there’s some evidence that his offense is starting to come around.
In 93 games for the Angels this season, Marsh slashed .226/.284/.353 with a 36.2% strikeout rate. In his first 25 games with the Phillies, Marsh has slashed .300/.317/.475, while cutting his strikeout rate down to 29.3%.
It’s a very small sample size, but Marsh already seems to have benefitted from working with hitting coach Kevin Long:
Marsh is only 24. He won’t become eligible for arbitration until 2025, and can’t become a free agent until after the 2027 season. If Marsh continues to turn in positive offensive results, the Phillies may have struck gold.
The only thing that keeps us from fully embracing this move — beyond needing to see a larger sample size of offensive production — is that the Phillies seemingly gave up a future starting catcher in Logan O’Hoppe.
Since joining the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Angels, O’Hoppe has a 1.190 OPS. On the season, O’Hoppe is slashing .285/.418/.551 with 26 home runs and 78 RBIs between the two organizations. It seems very possible that the 22-year-old will make his Major League debut in 2023.
O’Hoppe was blocked by J.T. Realmuto in Philadelphia, so he was a natural trade chip for Dombrowski and company. But if you give up a starting catcher — one who seemingly could be a top-tier starter — you better hit on the return.
Noah Syndergaard: D+
The Phillies didn’t think they were getting the 2016 version of Syndergaard when they acquired him from the Angels, but it wasn’t unreasonable to believe they were getting a No. 4-caliber arm.
But while Syndergaard has a 4-2 record and 3.83 FIP to show after his first eight starts as a Phillie, his 4.79 ERA feels more indicative of the type of outings he’s turned in as a Phillie.
For someone that only just turned 30, it’s kind of shocking to see how much Syndergaard’s stuff has diminished since he underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2020. As recently as 2019, Syndergaard’s average fastball velocity was 97.9 mph. Perhaps ironically, Syndergaard’s average fastball velocity since coming to Philadelphia has been 94.1 WIP mph.
If a healthy version of Zack Wheeler returns soon — and perhaps even if he doesn’t — it’s hard to imagine Syndergaard playing a role in the postseason for the Phillies. Wheeler and Aaron Nola would for sure get starts over Syndergaard. At this point, Ranger Suárez, Bailey Falter or Kyle Gibson may be better options to start a Game 3, especially with the possibility of piggybacking one of them with Zach Eflin.
The Phillies didn’t think they were getting peak Syndergaard when he was acquired, but there’s a very real chance he’s not on a playoff roster. Mickey Moniak was a relatively inconsequential piece to give up for Syndergaard, but it feels like his time in red pinstripes will be pretty short.
David Robertson: B
When the Phillies sent minor league pitcher Ben Brown to the Chicago Cubs to reacquire Robertson on Aug. 2, it felt like a luxury addition.
What the Phillies didn’t count on was that before the end of August, they would lose Corey Knebel for the season and have to stay afloat without Seranthony Domínguez during a recently-concluded injured list stint.
Robertson has blown two saves, and at 37, you do have to monitor his workload given how little he’s pitched the past few seasons. But all in all, Robertson has been a solid addition, posting a 2.60 ERA and 3.40 FIP in 16 outings. Assuming he plans to continue pitching beyond 2022, he’s someone you would have to at least consider re-signing.
Edmundo Sosa: A
Sometimes it’s the seemingly minor additions that help you to end a lengthy postseason drought.
Acquired in late July for JoJo Romero, Sosa has provided excellent infield defense, as the Phillies expected when they acquired him. What’s more, after slashing .189/.244/.270 with the Cardinals, Sosa has improved to .315/.345/.593 in 25 games with the Phillies.
It’s almost certainly unsustainable, but Sosa has a 1.1 fWAR since Aug. 1, tied with Bryson Stott for the second best mark on the Phillies over that time period.
(Editor’s Note: Shortly after the publication of this article, Sosa was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.)
Sosa is out of minor league options, but he’s only 26 years old and can’t become a free agent until after the 2026 season. He could become a fixture on the bench for the Phillies the next few seasons.
As Bob Wankel of Crossing Broad noted, one of the biggest failings of the Matt Klentak/Andy MacPhail regime was building organizational depth. Dombrowski’s front office has drastically improved the options both at the majors and Triple-A, and Sosa is one of the clearest examples of that.
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