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Phillies can finally fix biggest concern for four years by making trade for non-Mike Trout outfielder originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Over the past few years, the Philadelphia Phillies have made some impressive moves, but it's also fair to point out where Dave Dombrowski has gone wrong.
In Dombrowski's defense, there haven't exactly been a slew of right-handed hitters who have played very well, but his inability to bring in a right-handed-hitting outfielder has been a major problem for a team that could use a player like that in a desperate way.
Right now, the Phillies are 33-29, still 8.5 games back in the National League East. At 7-3 over their last 10 games, there's at least some promise about how things will go in the future.
Nonetheless, there's an expectation around Major League Baseball that the Phillies are going to be interested in adding a right-handed-hitting outfielder at the trade deadline. One guy that should be on their list is Taylor Ward, who CBS Sports recently noted could be available.
“There is a paucity of right-handed hitting outfielders throughout baseball right now. Only eight of the top 20 outfielders by WAR hit right-handed, and guys like Aaron Judge, Andy Pages and Julio Rodríguez aren't moving at the deadline. Taylor Ward, a rental who hit 36 homers in 2025 and has been hovering around a .400 on-base percentage in 2026, could be a very hot commodity in a few weeks. The O's can't seem to build any momentum to get back into the postseason race. Ward will be in demand and trading him quickly could become a no-brainer,” Mike Axisa of CBS Sports wrote.
I wouldn't say that Ward is exactly some great player, but he's definitely above average. He has 280 plate appearances on the year, the most in the American League, but he only has two home runs. He typically leaves the yard at a much higher clip, hitting 25 in 2024 and 36 in 2025.
I know Phillies fans might be a bit worried about that, but it's important to still look at his 115 OPS+, as he's still been a well-above-league-average hitter this season.
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