Phillies Reportedly Eye 'Expensive' Players at 2025 MLB Trade Deadline amid Rumors

Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has historically operated with a go-big-or-go-home mentality, so it's not a surprise the team is believed to be looking to make a big splash prior to the July 31 trade deadline.

Per The Athletic's Matt Gelb, the Phillies have an eye on "expensive" players who might be available.

In this case, expensive appears to mean players with multiple years of team control remaining and who will come at a high cost in a trade.

Gelb specifically cited AL Central relievers Emmanuel Clase (Cleveland Guardians), Griffin Jax and Jhoan Durán (Minnesota Twins) if their teams decide to shop them around. The Twins have Jax and Durán under team control through 2027.

Clase is signed through 2026 with team options for each of the next two seasons at $10 million each.

Having multiple years of team control means all three players are likely to have significant asking prices attached to them.

Gelb noted the Phillies have continued to say top prospect Andrew Painter is off limits, but they might be willing to discuss anyone else in their system, depending on the return.

The Phillies boast a top-heavy system with five top-100 prospects, per MLB.com's prospect pipeline. Aidan Miller, Justin Crawford, Eduardo Tait, Mick Abel and Aroon Escobar are their top prospects after Painter.

Whatever direction Dombrowski decides to take leading up to the deadline, it's safe to assume he will prioritize relievers. The Phillies' bullpen has the eighth-worst ERA (4.39) and 10th-worst home-run rate (1.19) in MLB.

Even though giving up high-ceiling young talent is a risk, especially if it is being moved for relief pitching, the Phillies need to operate with a little desperation given the makeup of their current core group.

Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are all at least 32 years old. Nola hasn't pitched since May 14 due to a sprained ankle and is expected back in August after also suffering a stress fracture in his rib.

Realmuto, Schwarber and Ranger Suárez are set to become free agents after this season.

The Phillies (54-39) enter Thursday with the second-best record in the National League, but are only 0.5 games ahead of the New York Mets (53-39) in the NL East.

Philadelphia has made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, including an appearance in the World Series in 2022.