Should Phillies Go After Star of In-State Rival Pirates to Upgrade Their Outfield?

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to have some tough decisions to make in the upcoming months.

With a roster that should compete for a World Series title -- and one that needs to based on the age of their core -- president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has to balance going all in to win a championship that's not guaranteed while also keeping the future in tact.

Bullpen changes were made to begin the month of June, something that clearly needed to happen based on how that unit has performed to start the season.

Next on the list could be outfield.

This group has been disappointing again, with only Nick Castellanos owning a wRC+ over the league average of 100 with his figure being 103. Max Kepler's is 96, Brandon Marsh's is 86, Johan Rojas' is 80 and bench player Weston Wilson hasn't provided much with his coming in at 73.

That is not good enough for the Phillies to compete for a World Series.

Outfield has long been discussed as a need for Philadelphia, but Dombrowski has not made it a clear target in past offseasons or during the trade deadline period, opting to add some short-term solutions but no gamechangers.

It's a strategy that hasn't worked out, and unless they are willing to promote Justin Crawford to see what he can give them, it needs to be time for the front office to make a splash in that unit.

Phillies Should Trade for Pirates Star Bryan Reynolds

Enter Bryan Reynolds and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the star outfielder is one of the players "expected" to be put on the market ahead of this year's trade deadline, something the Phillies should strongly consider when looking into ways to upgrade their outfield.

Reynolds would not be a rental, either.

He would become a key part of this roster going forward since he signed an eight-year, $106.75 million deal with the Pirates back in 2023, a contract that would keep him in Philadelphia through 2030 on a salary that's just under $15.3 million per season.

Making this move would not only be aggressive, it would be transformative.

While Reynolds has struggled this year with a .238/.307/.379 slash line and OPS+ that's below the league average of 100, his career OPS+ figure is 121, while also hitting 24 or more home runs in each of the last four seasons with 80-plus RBI in three of those.

Meanwhile, Castellanos -- whose contract ends after 2026 -- has a career OPS+ of 112.

Not only would Reynolds be helping the Phillies win right now, but he would be the natural replacement for Castellanos when his contract runs out, giving the team a star player on a club-friendly deal who has performed more consistently than their best outfielder has during his career.

What Pittsburgh might want back for their star isn't clear.

Likely wanting young players with high-upside, Philadelphia has plenty to deal from with 15 of their top 30 prospects being below the Double-A level.

This is a trade the Phillies should strongly consider.

More From Phillies On SI