Phillies Have Two Main Areas They Need To Upgrade at Trade Deadline

Despite making quite the run a couple of weeks ago, the Philadelphia Phillies have fallen into a rut and are behind the New York Mets once again in the National League East.

Due to a lot of success the last several years, expectations are high for the Phillies in 2025.

Coming into the campaign, there was a lot to like about the team after making a couple of nice offseason additions, but the results have been mixed.

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They are still having some of the same issues that have plagued them during their past two playoff appearances, which is a cause for concern.

Furthermore, while the current core of the team has had a lot of success together, they are getting older and some of the veterans have struggled. With the team still looking to contend, they will certainly be buyers at the trade deadline this summer to make a run.

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN (subscription required) recently wrote about the Phillies having a couple of issues they need to address this summer.

"If the offense can produce consistently -- and soon, given the competitive environment in the NL -- Dave Dombrowski can focus his trade resources on upgrading the Phillies' leaky bullpen."

Philadelphia has some alarming issues both in their lineup and bullpen.

In regards to the lineup, the team has been carried for most of the season by Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner. While those two have been great, the rest of the offense has come up small.

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Bryce Harper is currently on the injured list, and some other veterans like Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto haven’t been great -- although the latter two have started to heat up in the Chicago Cubs series.

The outfield in particular feels like the most logical spot to try and upgrade, with both center and left field being an issue in the playoffs last year.

For the bullpen, the suspension of Jose Alvarado for 80 games was far from ideal with him being one of the best relief pitchers for the team. Due to his suspension, he will also be ineligible to pitch in the playoffs.

Furthermore, Jordan Romano has improved after his terrible start to the season, but it will still take some time to trust him.

Like in recent years, the bullpen will likely be an area that Philadelphia looks to upgrade.

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The Phillies have been trying to solidify this unit for years and have unfortunately been largely unsuccessful.

Overall, if Philadelphia wants to be a contender in October, it appears like they will need to be aggressive and improve in multiple areas.

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