At Least the Bench Got Better

That pesky player to be named later was dealt again by the Phillies, this time to the Pirates for outfielder Corey Dickerson. He's a gold glover with an OPS over .900 this season, and he'll make the bench better. But it might be awhile since he has a groin injury and will be eased into action. Dickerson's arrival probably means a trip to Lehigh Valley for Nick Williams or Roman Quinn.

And to wrap up Trade Deadline Day, the Phils acquired righthander Dan Straily who will be sent to Triple A. Straily's numbers are flat-out ugly this year - 9.82 ERA with a WHIP just a hair under 2. But I guess they figured another visit to the garbage pile might land them a serviceable arm.

But the teams in front of the Phillies in the NL East were a lot busier. The Braves picked up not 1, but 2 closers when they acquired Shane Greene from the Tigers and Mark Melancon from the Giants. And on Tuesday, they picked up reliever Chris Martin from Coldplay the Rangers.

The Nationals tried to fix their terrible bullpen by adding Daniel Hudson, Roenis Elias, and Hunter Strickland, who has a colorful past with a current Phillie. In 2017, he hit Bryce Harper with a pitch that set off a brawl and was suspended for 6 games.

And speaking of bullpens, the Phils took another hit when David Robertson announced he was going to have season-ending surgery to keep his arm from falling off or some such nonsense. That means all 3 big-ticket relievers the Phils acquired over the last 2 years–Robertson, Pat Neshak, and Tommy Hunter are out of action. At least Neshak and Hunter come off the books after the end of the season. And nobody knows if Robertson will be able to pitch next year. Yay.

So the Phils added a pair of middling starting pitchers and nothing for the bullpen. Unless you count the demotions of starters Nick Pivetta and Zach Eflin as additions.

I like the Dickerson deal and so far Drew Smyly has been a huge surprise. But they really needed to add a dependable starter and a solid bullpen arm. But given the history with Robertson and Co., I can see why they might have been a little gunshy.

The Phils improved their bench a bit. But the Braves and Nationals did more to try and fix what ails them. And that might cost the Phils a chance at the playoffs.