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Predicting Phillies’ next big trade before deadline

Originally posted on MLB on ClutchPoints
By Russell Steinberg | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 8:58 PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies stumbled into the All-Star break with a 5-5 record in their last 10 games and a series loss to the San Diego Padres to close the first half. Still, they’re 55-41 and a half-game up in the National League East with less than three weeks before the trade deadline.

The team has plenty of work to do to go from playoff contenders to World Series threats, and it start with the bullpen. The Phillies rank 23rd in baseball in bullpen ERA (4.38) and 26th in bullpen strikeouts (292). Their saving grace has been that Philadelphia relievers have had to pitch the fewest innings of any team in baseball thanks to a starting rotation that goes deeper into games than any others.

But that’s not something they can count on continuing through the rest of the season. After all, injuries happen, and in the postseason, starters generally stay on a shorter leash. The Phillies will need to find a way to finish games. That’s why their first priority before the trade deadline needs to be to improve the bullpen.

The Phillies can overpay for Emmanuel Clase

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) celebrates after getting the final out against the Chicago White Sox during the tenth inning at Rate Field. David Banks-Imagn Images

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is expected to be aggressive at the trade deadline. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reported last week that Dombrowski is willing to part with front-end prospects over the next few weeks with a “win now” approach.

Specifically, Gelb said Dombrowski is seeking “controllable big leaguers, especially a shutdown, late-inning reliever.”

Enter Emmanuel Clase. The Cleveland Guardians closer was almost flawless last year, pitching to a 0.61 ERA with 47 saves and a third-place finish in Cy Young voting. He hasn’t been quite as dominant this year, but is still enjoying a strong season (2.91 ERA, 20 saves). Even better, he’s been nearly perfect in the last month, throwing 13.2 innings and giving up just one earned run.

The Guardians are 46-49, and while that still puts them in striking distance of a playoff spot, they would have to climb over five other teams just to get to the third Wild Card. Cleveland should be sellers, and Clase has up to three more years of team control remaining (he has team options for 2027 and 2028).

So what would it take to get Clase to Philadelphia? It won’t be easy, but the Phillies have the farm system depth to not only make it happen, but have prospects left to make additional moves as the July 31 trade deadline approaches. USA Today ranked Philadelphia as having the fourth-best farm system in baseball on the eve of the 2025 MLB Draft, and it has a handful of prospects knocking on the door of the Majors.

If the Phillies are serious about a shut-down reliever, they can offer the following package to the Guardians:

Guardians receive: OF Justin Crawford (Phillies No. 3 prospect) and C Caleb Ricketts (Phillies No. 29 prospect)
Phillies receive: Emmanuel Clase

Crawford is the prize here for Cleveland. One of six Phillies prospects ranked in MLB.com’s top 100, the outfielder is tearing it up in Triple-A, hitting .331 with an .839 OPS in 73 games. His play has even caused some to speculate he could be on his way to the big leagues, since the Phillies’ outfield corps has, overall, been disappointing.

But don’t worry — three of those six top 100 prospects in Philadelphia’s system are in Triple-A. They have plenty of other options to deal.

This article first appeared on MLB on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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