Phillies have reportedly been scouting the Cubs

CLEVELAND — The Philadelphia Phillies are among a group of five teams that Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic says “have been watching” the Chicago Cubs this week. Along with the Phillies, the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres have also been scouting the Cubs, circling the 45-51 team in the event they do sell before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

While Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrwoski acknowledged earlier this week that the team probably would prefer to add a right-handed bat to bolster their lineup, former NL MVP Cody Bellinger makes sense as a possible target in other regards.

Bellinger could play either left field or first base, or some combination of both if Bryce Harper does indeed wind up spending some time at first base down the stretch, which the Phillies still say is the plan.

Bellinger also has extensive postseason experience from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although his .661 OPS in 69 career postseason games isn’t especially impressive, Bellinger did hit four home runs and drive in 13 runs during the 2020 postseason, which culminated in the Dodgers winning the World Series.

With the quartet of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suárez and Taijuan Walker, Dombrowski also admitted this week that the Phillies don’t feel like they need to add a starter who could pitch in a postseason game. But the future Hall of Fame executive added the qualifier that you never rule anything out this time of year, and two-time All-Star Marcus Stroman would obviously improve any team and give you insurance if there is an injury or someone like Walker struggles in the second half, as he has done in past years.

From here, the more likely pitching addition from the Cubs would seem to be Drew Smyly, who previously pitched for the Phillies in 2019. Smyly has struggled in 2023, posting a 4.50 ERA and 4.82 FIP in 19 starts. With that said, a year ago he posted a 3.47 ERA and 4.23 FIP in 22 starts. The 34-year-old could be an interesting potential upgrade for the final spot in the starting rotation, although Cristopher Sánchez has more than held his own in 2023, with a 3.06 ERA and 3.94 FIP to show for seven starts.

A month ago, it felt like the Phillies bullpen was mostly set. And perhaps with Seranthony Domínguez slated to begin a rehab stint this weekend and Craig Kimbrel having his best season in years, the Phillies will mostly move forward with what they have in the bullpen. But while José Alvarado seems to be progressing, the firethrowing lefty is currently on the injured list with left elbow inflammation for the second time this season. And for as well as Kimbrel has pitched, he’s 35 years old and it’s fair to consider insurance options if he runs out of gas late in the regular season or in the playoffs. A slew of bullpen arms that the Cubs employ — from closer Adbert Alzolay to former Phillie Mark Leiter Jr. — might intrigue a contender like the Phillies.

Sharma also pointed out that the Cubs have played the Washington Nationals and St. Louis this week, so it’s possible that some contenders have been as interested in scouting the visiting teams coming into Wrigley Field as the home team. But a year ago, the Phillies sent pitching prospect Ben Brown to the Cubs to acquire David Robertson, who ended up closing out Game 1 of the World Series. Perhaps they’ll go back to the well and trade with Chicago president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer again.

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