Phillies Trade Rumors: Could Domonic Brown Finish the Deal for Hunter Pence?

It is possible that by the end of the week Domonic Brown will not be playing in Philadelphia anymore. According to Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly, "there are indications that they would include outfielder Domonic Brown in a package."

This is bound to create some controversy in Phillies nation.

On one hand, the Phillies would be getting an All-Star right-handed bat in Hunter Pence. The Houston star is having a very good year hitting .308 with 11 home runs, 62 RBI and seven stolen bases.

The obvious reason that the Phillies are considering him is because he is a right-handed bat to break up the myriad of left-handers in the middle of the lineup. He would also be able to protect Ryan Howard in the lineup more effectively than anybody else has. Not to mention, Pence is under team control for another year, making him more than just a two-month rental.

The downside to this type of move is that by trading for an All-Star, the Phillies could very well be giving away a future All-Star in Domonic Brown. Brown has been compared to Brian Jordan or Ellis Burks, both of whom had very successful and very long careers in Major League Baseball. Trading away a player with that type of ceiling could definitely come back to haunt the Phillies (For example, in 1996 Burks hit .344 with a .408 on-base percentage, 40 home runs, 128 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases).

However, Brown is still a rookie with a lot of projection left, so what if he never even comes close to that potential? No prospect is a 100% sure thing. He might never develop any further.

Of course, that seems very unlikely because he is definitely showing signs of improvement and looks like he will continue to develop.

So the question becomes: do the Phillies want to keep a potential star in Brown or do they want to trade for a current star?

If the Phillies make this trade, Pence could be out of Philadelphia in two years, whereas the Phillies control Brown for much longer than that.

However, could two-and-a-half years of Pence mean more than all of those years of Domonic Brown? Or could Brown be a piece to continue the Phillies dynasty for years to come?

That is a decision for Ruben Amaro, Jr. to make as the deadline draws near.