Phillies Ship Slugger to Tigers in Trade Idea
It feels like the only remaining move for the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason will be to add another bullpen piece. Despite rumors they were interested in some of the starting pitchers on the market, it doesn’t seem like they are going to go that route with Aaron Nola already re-signed and them reportedly focusing on extending their other ace. Much of the Phillies’ limited offseason has to do with the high payroll they’ll be paying in 2024 and beyond.
After making the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS in 2023, they should be chasing a championship and have continued to keep their roster full of talent to give themselves the best chance at accomplishing that goal. That’s why the trade proposal put together by Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report was head-scratching. He has Philadelphia trading away their star slugger, Kyle Schwarber, to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for their No. 12 overall prospect, Brant Hurter. Schwarber has been a major part of the Phillies since joining the organization in 2022 on a four-year, $79 million contract. He’s hit 46 and 47 home runs in back-to-back seasons with over 90 RBI in each.
Miller’s reasoning for this trade comes from a “sign-and-trade” angle that would ultimately send out Schwarber’s $20 million salary and give them the freedom to sign one of the elite pitching free agents still available like Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery or Josh Hader. Without the lefty slugger in the designated hitter spot, they could potentially move Nick Castellanos into that role and put a better defender in right field to truly give themselves a defensive upgrade in the outfield after Johan Rojas’ arrival.
Getting back Hurter would be a plus on top of the free agent they could sign. The 25-year-old left-handed starting pitcher spent his second professional season at the Double-A level last year, recording an ERA of 3.28 across 26 starts. He also struck out 133 batters across 118 innings pitched.
This would certainly be a risky move for Philadelphia, and something they might have no interest in. If they sent out Schwarber, they would have to be extremely sure they could land one of the elite players left in free agency or else their roster would start out in 2024 much worse than when they entered the offseason.
