Philadelphia Phillies Trade Deadline Need Could be Filled By A's

The Philadelphia Phillies are in need of a third baseman with Alec Bohm landing on the IL after suffering a left rib fracture last week that landed him on the 10-day IL. The expected timeline for his return is somewhere in the three to four week range, so he'll be expected to return to the lineup before the season is over.

The Phillies have also checked in on Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who is arguably the best hitter on the trade block this deadline season, and MLB.com ranked Philadelphia No. 1 on the list of teams that need Suarez's services.

The D-Backs third baseman would be an upgrade to any roster he joins, but the asking price isn't going to be cheap. There is also the possibility that he lands somewhere else, so what other options could be open to the Phillies?

The A's may have a great fit for them on a number of levels.

Why an A's-Phillies Trade Makes Sense

While he doesn't have the same level of upside as Suarez, Miguel Andujar has been spending time at the hot corner this season with the Athletics, batting .291 with a .324 OBP and four home runs. He's sitting right around a league average bat, so he's not a huge upgrade over Bohm in the short-term, but Andujar has also spent plenty of time in left field the past two seasons with the A's.

Otto Kemp has been getting the majority of the playing time at third since Bohm went down, but Andujar would present a little bit of an upgrade over Kemp.

When Bohm returns from the IL at some point this season, Andujar could slide into the outfield mix, where he would be a pretty decent upgrade over Max Kepler. While he doesn't have the same pop as Kepler, he's also hitting 100 points higher, and Andujar's bat-to-ball skills could be a real difference maker for a contending team in October.

We saw last year how the Los Angeles Dodgers were able to just put the ball in play during the World Series, and the New York Yankees kicked the ball all over the field. Sometimes just getting bat on ball in a big spot gets the job done. With so many big, powerful bats in the Phillies lineup, Andujar would offer a nice change of pace.

He also wouldn't take to much to acquire given that he's set to become a free agent at the end of the season. The A's wouldn't be eyeing a top prospect in this deal (though if the Phillies wanted to include one, it's hard to say they'd be rejected).

The most the A's may hope to get in this deal would be someone like Seth Johnson, the Phillies' No. 13 prospect. He's a hard-throwing reliever that has limited big-league experience, above average control, and four roughly average offerings.

Max Lazar, 26, and Alan Rangel, 27, are two more arms that could be of interest to the A's. In other words, the A's will be looking for either MLB relief arms, or nearly MLB-ready bullpen guys. The trio of John, Lazar and Rangel all have options remaining, and have had high strikeout stuff in the minors without going too wild with free passes.

None of them are sure things to hit, but they offer some intriguing upside, and the Athletics would be able to give them the playing time to be able to find themselves at the big-league level, whereas the Phillies are primed to not only make the postseason, but also potentially go on a deep run.