Why Phillies should not have any 'untouchables' at MLB trade deadline

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Why Phillies should not have any 'untouchables' at MLB trade deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Philadelphia Phillies seemed like a team that would be selling off a lot of their assets by the MLB trade deadline a few weeks ago. But, since Don Mattingly took over, things are looking a lot better than before.

Now, the Phillies are 25-25, and very likely to wind up as a buyer come the trade deadline. And when the deadline comes around, it's fair to wonder what this team will do and how they'll operate.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter, in identifying every team's "untouchable" trade assets, didn't list a single player whom the Phillies should deem "untouchable" this season.

"Philadelphia Phillies: None," Rueter writes. "The Phillies currently have Cristopher Sanchez, Kyle Schwarber, Zack Wheeler, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Aaron Nola, and Jesus Luzardo all signed to long-term deals, leaving them without a viable high-profile trade candidate."

Reuter doesn't believe, aside from the obvious, that there are any "untouchable" players on the Phillies roster in a trade. This is the right stance, as the Phillies have a few players that might be talented, but should be considered trade-worthy for the right player.

Why Phillies have zero untouchable players in trade talks​

Players like Harper, Schwarber, and Turner are obviously not up for trade, but there are a ton of other players who should be considered tradeable by the Phillies this year.

Essentially, every reliever, including Jhoan Duran, could be dealt. In the rotation, Andrew Painter, despite this being his rookie season, could also be on the move if the Phillies could bring in an elite player at a position of need.

Then, of the lineup, Alec Bohm is someone who the Phillies would likely love to trade if they could, as they've already tried for a few offseasons to move on from him.

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Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, Adolis Garcia, J.T. Realmuto, and Justin Crawford are all players the Phillies could trade if the right move were possible.

The Phillies have no "untouchable" trade chips this year because they've done a good job locking players up long-term that otherwise would have this label.

But players like Bohm, Stott, Painter, Crawford, and Marsh are all very much in play to be traded this year if the right package is available.

It might not be a sell-off at the deadline, but the Phillies could still elect to shake things up this year and move on from some players. And of their potential realistic trade chips, none are completely "untouchable."

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