Phillies Trade Deadline Plans Reportedly Revealed

Outside of Aaron Nola, who has truthfully been wildly inconsistent this year, the Philadelphia Phillies starting rotation has been an unmitigated disaster. Nola currently boasts the lowest ERA of the bunch at 3.77, a tally that is a ways away from being considered elite.

Therefore, the club is expected to pursue a plethora of arms ahead of the July 31 trade deadline if they intend to stay in contention. Veteran Mike Minor and Drew Smyly have been linked with the franchise in recent weeks, but it would appear that the Phils actually have their eyes on three other minted hurlers.

Per MLB Trade Rumors, Philly has inquired about acquiring Zack Greinke, Madison Bumgarner, and Matt Boyd.

Latest On Phillies' Pitching Targets https://t.co/FGB0GC6mg0 pic.twitter.com/VKUBh4MrKH
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) July 19, 2019

The organization was also reportedly enamored with the idea of bringing Homer Bailey aboard before he was dealt to the Athletics.

It's expected that general manager Matt Klentak will aggressively badger the likes of MadBum, Greinke, and Boyd to pair alongside Nola at the top of the rotation, while potentially turning to someone of Smyly's caliber to shore up the back end of the gauntlet.

Based on all the factors at play (including one metric both Matt Klentak and Gabe Kapler value in pitchers), here's a guess at which arms the Phillies could target over the next three weeks.https://t.co/c1n2F6eSfy
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) July 10, 2019

The inconsistencies of Zach Eflin, Vince Valasquez, and Nick Pivetta (to say nothing of Jake Arrieta's potentially season-ending injury) are pretty much forcing Klentak's hand.

Philly's offense is built to win now, but they won't have a chance to shine in the postseason if their starting rotation doesn't undergo some serious changes within the next two weeks.

These rumors are just a testament to that popular perception.