Phillies Could Take Risk on Struggling Former All-Star To Help Outfield Woes

As the Philadelphia Phillies continue to battle with the New York Mets in the National League East, the trade deadline is also looming large for the franchise.

The Phillies have had a strong season but are locked up in a tight race for first place in the NL East. With the race likely going down to the wire, Philadelphia is going to be seeking some upgrades in the next few days before the trade deadline.

Currently, there are two glaring needs for the roster, with the team needing to revamp the bullpen and add a slugger, likely in the outfield, to help out.

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These two areas were issues for the team in 2024 and contributed to them being eliminated from the postseason early. Now, problems in these areas persist, and the team must find ways to fix them.

While the bullpen is the greater of the two needs, upgrading the outfield to strengthen the batting order from top to bottom would be nice, too.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. being a good buy-low trade candidate for the Phillies at the trade deadline.

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“Most teams can't/won't gamble $7M (factoring in the 2026 buyout) on Robert amounting to something over the next two months, but both teams battling for NL East supremacy might deem it a necessary risk,” he wrote.

Robert has been one of the most talked-about players in trade rumors for the White Sox for the last year or so. Due to the struggles of Chicago, they are open for business when it comes to potentially trading assets, and Robert is one of the most interesting players likely to be available.

In 2023, the 27-year-old was an All-Star for the American League and appeared to be on his way to stardom. That year, he slashed .264/.315/.542 with 38 home runs, 86 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.

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However, while injuries have been an issue, he has seen a sharp decline in his production since the breakout campaign.

Due to the struggles, there is certainly a possibility that Robert wouldn’t even be an upgrade in the outfield for the Phillies. In 84 games this season, he has slashed .206/.293/.343 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI. However, he does have a very impressive 26 steals, which have quickly become the best part of his game.

Perhaps a change of scenery and joining a winning franchise is what he needs to turn things around, but it has been a significant amount of time now that Robert simply hasn’t been good.

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