Go get a bat, Dave!

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Jul 8, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh (16) hits a single in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

This week, I asked a simple question, or what I thought was a simple question. Does Dave Dombrowski need to get an outfield bat at the trade deadline no matter how well the current group is doing? It seems like a simple question since, well, we all have eyes.

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Going into a pennant chase with Brandon Marsh, Justin Crawford and some combination of Derek Hill and Gabriel Rincones, Jr. is not where the Phillies thought they would be when the season started. Injuries and ineffectiveness have rendered the need for an outfielder to be high up on the trade concern list, but a second glance at it, there might be less of a need than originally thought.

Since Adolis Garcia was injured on June 10, the Phillies have rolled with some combination of Marsh, Crawford, Rincones, Hill and Edmundo Sosa. A murderer’s row, it is not. Serviceable?

Player	PA	AVG/OBP/SLG	wRC+	fWAR
Brandon Marsh	110	.267/.300/.495	113	0.4
Justin Crawford	81	.342/.367/.408	114	0.4
Gabriel Rincones, Jr.	63	.203/.238/.356	57	-0.1
Derek Hill	44	.317/.349/.512	134	0.5
Edmundo Sosa	51	.261/.300/.457	102	0.2

Now, this isn’t how they have performed as outfielders as clearly Sosa has had other plate appearances around the field, but serviceable is probably the word that best fits this description. You can see the weak point there is Rincones, a rookie trying to keep his head above water. But if we take it to a team level, the outfield’s 104 wRC+ since Garcia went down is 12th in baseball. Whatever they have been trying has been working.

Does that preclude them from going to get another outfielder? It shouldn’t. The streaks that the players have been on are more than likely hot streaks that the team has been able to benefit from. Adding a more established bat with a better track record is something that would behoove Dave Dombrowski and company. However, it hasn’t been all bad in this past month!

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