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The Phillies have become an analytic-driven team. Ops. is the one stat analytic experts drool over. It should come as no shock that both of the Phillies acquisitions can hit for solid power and get on base at a high rate.
It is August 1st and the MLB trade deadline has come and gone. We are also into August and the Phillies are in first place for the NL East. I couldn’t be any happier with how the Phillies handled the deadline. While many will look at it and think it was a failure because Machado isn’t a Phillie, I choose to look at it differently. Four players were traded in July that had an Ops. over .800 and the Phillies got two of them. The Phillies have become an analytic-driven team. Ops. is the one stat analytic experts drool over. It should come as no shock that both of the Phillies acquisitions can hit for solid power and get on base at a high rate.
It started with the addition of Asdrubel Cabrera last week. Cabrera was the Mets most consistent player all season long, and he adds great depth to the infield. Most importantly, it allows Kingery to go back to the super-utility role the Phillies had in mind for him before the season started. He is no Manny Machado, but it was a solid move that didn’t require the Phillies to give up much. The same goes with the addition of catcher, Wilson Ramos.
The Phillies have nothing to give up, except maybe a low-level prospect and cash considerations. Once Ramos gets off the DL in a couple weeks, he will instantly have the highest batting average in the lineup. He will also be a big upgrade behind the plate. Alfaro will move into the backup spot, and Knapp will be down with the IronPigs. Adding one of top veteran catchers in baseball for the stretch run will pay dividends down the stretch.
The Phillies also added lefty Aaron Loup to the bullpen. He won’t get confused for Mariano Rivera anytime soon, but the bullpen needed a lefty arm, and he fills that need. All in all, if you complain about what the Phillies did at the deadline, then you need to re-evaluate the situation. The Phillies positioned themselves well for a playoff run, while avoiding mortgaging the future with bad contracts and giving up prospects. At the end of the day, just ask yourself this, “Are the Phillies a better team than they were last week?” And the answer to that is, “Yes”.
