Which Prospects Could the Phillies Trade at the Deadline?

Phillies’ Trade Option 2: Pitching Talents

The Phillies have seen some big pitching talents graduate or leave the team in recent years. Andrew Painter reached rookie eligibility this season, while then-Top 100 prospect Mick Abel was traded in the Jhoan Duran deal. However, there are still several intriguing pitching prospects the Phillies could entice teams with.

Fast-moving righty Ramon Marquez (PHI #9) has drawn major attention to himself this year, and for good reason. He dominated Single-A to the tune of a 1.86 ERA over six games, striking out 40.5% of batters. That led to a mid-June promotion to High-A Jersey Shore, and he hasn’t missed a beat. Through his first three starts, Marquez has a 2.40 ERA, with 20 strikeouts to six walks in 15 innings of work.

After a breakout 2024 season (18 games, 3.64 ERA, 31.8 K%), southpaw Mavis Graves (PHI #26) has still showcased great swing-and-miss stuff. Over 51.1 innings, Graves has struck out 77 batters while limiting batters to a .228 average against him. The struggle has been preventing home runs, as Graves has allowed 11 this year, already five more than his previous career high in 2025. Whether he could be a trade chip will depend on how other teams view his potential going forward.

Could the Phillies trade a young reliever for a more proven MLB arm? Alex McFarlane (PHI #17) has had an incredible year with Reading out of the pen. McFarlane’s 14% walk rate is his worst since 2023, when he was still being used as a full-time starter. However, his high-octane stuff has also led to a 31.8 K%, and he’s given hitters fits, as evidenced by his .173 average against. In an outing on July 4, McFarlane threw eight pitches over 100, topping out at 102.

Phillies’ Trade Option 3: The Best of Their Best

The Phillies currently have three prospects in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100: Aidan Miller (#29), Gage Wood (#53), and Francisco Renteria (#94). After trading two Top 100 prospects last year (Abel and Eduardo Tait), could the Phillies send more out this deadline?

Miller is unlikely to be traded. Though immensely talented, he’s been on the injured list since the start of the year with a back injury. Miller recently underwent a procedure for his injuries and is unlikely to return to games until around mid-to-late July.

Renteria is also unlikely to be moved this year. The Phillies were very high on him and signed him for $4 million in this year’s international amateur class. The early returns are promising – he has a 1.028 OPS in his first 24 professional games. But at just 17, Philadelphia will likely want to see more of him before even considering a trade surrounding him. 

That leaves Gage Wood as the last Top 100 prospect who could be traded, and the most likely to be. Wood has impressed in his first full professional season, skipping from Single-A right to Double-A. Wood has shown some improvements since jumping to Reading, dropping his walk rate from 11.4% in Clearwater to 8.4% in Double-A. 

But despite a good 3.86 ERA in seven starts, he’s struggled with preventing the longball. He’s allowed six in Reading after allowing just two in roughly the same amount of time at Clearwater. Still, Wood has maintained a strong strikeout rate over both levels (38.1% in A, 32.7% in AA). There’s an outside chance he could help the major league team this year. However, if the right player becomes available, they could potentially trade him.

What Can the Phillies Get?

Philadelphia has intriguing talents in its farm system, though overall it isn’t as strong as other teams around the league. A preseason ranking placed the Phillies’ prospect pool as 20th in baseball. 

That’s not to say they couldn’t get quality players at the deadline. Hendry Mendez was a mid-level prospect in the Phillies farm system last year who was traded for Harrison Bader. Bader became an important part of the team’s NL East crown, as he posted an .824 OPS the rest of the way in Philly. 

Reliever Carlos Estevez was acquired for a pair of pitching prospects in 2024. George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri were expected to rank seventh and 12th in a midseason prospect re-ranking in the Phillies system before the trade. Estevez produced a respectable 2.57 ERA in 20 games to finish out the regular season. However, his Phillies tenure is better remembered for the series-winning grand slam he surrendered to Francisco Lindor in the NLDS.

The Phillies may not have the deepest farm system in baseball. However, history shows that they’ve been able to get key pieces with the prospects they have. They may not find themselves in the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes or bidding to pull Willson Contreras away from Boston. But that doesn’t mean they can’t find crucial parts to shore up the holes on their roster right now. And if they’re willing to part with a bigger-name prospect, they could find a longer-lasting impact player.