Inquirer.com – Zurich DR

Category: Phillies/MLB

  • The Phillies do ‘need some help’ by trades. But they also need some from Bryce Harper and his teammates.

    The Phillies do ‘need some help’ by trades. But they also need some from Bryce Harper and his teammates.

    Help!

    I need somebody …

    Help!

    … not just anybody …

    Help!

    … you know I need someone …

    Helllllllllllllp!

    Nine losses in 12 games over a span of 14 days will have an effect on people, especially when the trade deadline is bearing down.

    It caused Bryce Harper to channel John Lennon.

    “I think we need some help,” Harper told reporters in Miami — and that was before the Phillies gagged a 6-0 lead into an 8-6 loss Wednesday, the worst gut punch at the worst time.

    The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.

    OK, before we continue: Harper isn’t wrong.

    Everyone can see that the Phillies need, at minimum, a right-handed hitter, a late-inning reliever, and another starting pitcher. The front office is aware; 29 other teams know it, too.

    Some of it is the consequence of bad luck. The Phillies’ most expensive offseason additions — right fielder Adolis García and reliever Brad Keller — went down with season-ending injuries. Mostly, though, it’s an indictment of Dave Dombrowski’s Jenga-tower roster that a team with a $317 million luxury-tax payroll has so many holes.

    And, well, take it away, Bryce.

    “I think we’ve proved pretty much all year, we’ve done a pretty good job, but any time you can get some help in here and reinforcements, I think it helps,” he said. “… I think obviously everybody knows what we need. We need both [hitting and pitching].”

    Bryce Harper (left) and Brandon Marsh have struggled at the plate since representing the Phillies in the All-Star Game.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Harper shared that opinion during All-Star week and reiterated it to MLB.com and The Athletic a few days ago. But because his latest comments were on camera, and because the deadline is Monday, his words were amplified.

    So, can the Phillies get everything they need?

    “I don’t know,” Harper said. “We’ll see. I mean, that’s a Dave question.”

    As in Dombrowski, who irritated Harper after last season by wondering if he was still elite. They talked it out in spring training, and as owner John Middleton said, “I’m confident that everything’s behind us now.” Clearly it isn’t. As long as Harper hits and Dombrowski builds a contending roster, they will co-exist. But Harper’s cry for help, five days before the deadline, likely annoyed the front office.

    In reality, there’s only so much help available on the trade market, with right-handed bats especially scarce.

    Entering play Wednesday, 22 teams were no worse than 3½ games out of a wild-card spot. Within that extreme seller’s market, neither Mike Trout nor Byron Buxton is willing to waive no-trade rights. Buxton (hip) went on the injured list Wednesday, and two more available right-handed bats — Spencer Steer of the Reds and the Giants’ Casey Schmitt — suffered major injuries this week.

    Last weekend, the Red Sox dealt Connelly Early, a 24-year-old lefty with six quality pitches and five years of club control, for infielder Curtis Mead, who was having a breakout season for the Nationals after getting designated for assignment in March. And even before Mead broke his wrist in his first game, rival scouts agreed that Boston overpaid to gain access to a right-handed hitter.

    It’s clear what the Phillies need at the trade deadline. Do they have the prospect capital to get it?

    There’s a larger supply of available starting pitching. The Phillies scouted Giants lefty Robbie Ray last weekend and Mets righty Clay Holmes’ two injury rehab starts in the minors. They reportedly sent scouts to observe the Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman, the Nationals’ Foster Griffin, the Mets’ Freddy Peralta, and others.

    But the Phillies really need offense. They’re tied for last in the majors in on-base percentage (.303), including a worst-in-the-majors .279 mark and .639 OPS from their right-handed hitters.

    And even if there was a high-impact bat available, the industry consensus is that they lack upper-level talent in the farm system to anchor such a swap.

    In that case, no matter what Dombrowski does before 6 p.m. Monday, Harper’s plea for help must extend to his teammates, too. Because although he’s right about the need for reinforcements, it’s really the stars — three hitters, in particular — that must shine brighter.

    Phillies shortstop Trea Turner has made seven errors since the All-Star break.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Trea Turner

    After winning the batting title and finishing fifth in the National League MVP race last season, Turner is playing at less than replacement level, according to Baseball-Reference’s WAR calculation.

    Turner’s value is dragged down by his defense. He has seven errors since the All-Star break and leads the majors with 19, a striking regression from the best defensive season of his career last year.

    Lately, the Phillies hold their breath on every grounder to shortstop.

    Help!

    “He’s just in a place where he’s searching, and he’s too internal with his thought process,” infield coach Bobby Dickerson said this week on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “The ball’s put in play, and he’s thinking more about what to do with his body than engaging with the ball. … You can see he’s a step late, not as aggressive, not as decisive.

    “Right now he’s in a bad place. And it puts us all in a bad place, really. We just need to get him back to what he can do, and it’s my responsibility to get it done.”

    What if the Phillies’ most impactful addition was a resurgent Trea Turner? He’s working to make it happen.

    Not coincidentally, Turner’s problems in the field have come in the midst of his career-worst season at the plate.

    Through June 15, he was batting .216 with a .268 on-base percentage and a .595 OPS. The last six weeks have been better. In his last 35 games, Turner is batting .296 (43-for-145) and slugging .524 with eight homers.

    A midseason position change isn’t under consideration. So, as the Phillies try to fix Turner’s defense, they need at least a high level of production at the plate.

    Turner, as intelligent and self-aware as any player, often overthinks his struggles. Dickerson wants him to “be an artist instead of a scientist.”

    “He wants answers scientifically a lot of times,” Dickerson said. “The more scientific he is, the more he locks himself up. … We had his confidence flying high last year. He felt real confident. Now, he’s almost anticipating, don’t mess up. We’ve got to get it right.”

    Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh has struggled since starting the All-Star Game.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Brandon Marsh

    It took only 19 days for the Phillies to climb from the 9-19 start that got Rob Thomson fired to the .500 mark.

    Marsh batted .381 during that stretch.

    Kyle Schwarber hit 32 homers before the All-Star break, and yes, Harper was elite. But there wasn’t a more consistent Phillies hitter than Marsh, who played himself not only into the lineup against lefties but also into the cleanup spot for Don Mattingly.

    But Marsh is 5-for-43 with one homer since the break. He stopped hitting lefties, too, and was on the bench last week against the Dodgers’ Eric Lauer and the Yankees’ Ryan Weathers, hardly Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal.

    Help!

    All-Star outfielder Brandon Marsh relegated to platoon role (for now) as the Phillies seek more production against lefty pitching

    “I was talking to some guys around the All-Star Week, and I was like, ‘Would you rather be an All-Star or win a World Series?’ And the answer is easy. You’d rather win a World Series,” said Marsh, 4-for-30 against lefties since June 25. “… If that means having to take a step back and be more of a role player, then that’s what I’m going to be.”

    Actually, the Phillies need Marsh to be a costar again.

    Because Dombrowski could trade for, say, Lane Thomas from the Royals to split time with Marsh as part of a triple-platoon in the outfield. But it would be easier if the Phillies could count on Marsh every day and add lefty-hitting Daulton Varsho from the Blue Jays or Jake McCarthy from the Rockies, or righty-swinging Jo Adell from the Angels or Taylor Ward, if the Orioles sell.

    “I do believe that [Marsh] is going to be a guy that can be an everyday guy,” Mattingly said. “Something we talked about is understanding how to hit lefties and what you need to do. Understanding ball movement, what do you want to hit, where does [the swing] have to start. He’s a guy that, honestly, at the big league level has really not had the opportunity to continue to do that.

    “But at some point, we’re trying to win games. We need to be better against lefties.”

    Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper is 8-for-43 (.186) with 16 strikeouts since the All-Star break.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Harper

    Help me if you can, I’m feeling down …

    … and I do appreciate you being ’round

    Help me get my feet back on the ground

    Won’t you please, please, help me?

    Harper’s candor is refreshing. He speaks his mind, even when it ruffles feathers.

    “I mean, Dave’s been doing this a while,” Mattingly told reporters Wednesday. “He’s never really backed away from trying to get guys. We’re going to try to get better at the deadline.”

    What makes Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber such unique stars? We asked each about the other.

    Asked if he was bothered by Harper’s comments, Mattingly, whose son, Preston, works under Dombrowski as general manager, said he only was concerned with what they implied.

    “If you say something about our team,” Mattingly said, “then you’re saying something about one of our players that you don’t like.”

    “Bryce is Bryce,” Mattingly continued. “He’s going to say what he wants. I’m not really concerned about it. I take it kind of with a grain of salt, knowing how players are over the years.”

    But Harper also isn’t satisfied with how he has swung the bat lately. He’s 8-for-43 (.186) with 16 strikeouts since the break, even after homering in the first inning Monday and tripling home a run in the fifth inning Wednesday.

    As Harper likes to say: “Not enough.”

    The Phillies need more, even if help is on the way.

  • Phillies blow a six-run lead to get swept out of Miami: ‘We expect better of ourselves’

    Phillies blow a six-run lead to get swept out of Miami: ‘We expect better of ourselves’

    MIAMI — As the offense poured on six runs in the first five innings, it felt like the Phillies were back on track, at least for the moment.

    But it didn’t take long for another of the team’s weaknesses to become magnified.

    The Phillies’ latest pitching collapse led to an 8-6 loss to Miami on Wednesday, squandering a game they had once comfortably led 6-0. The Marlins had started the series on a franchise-record 12-game losing streak, and they ended it by sweeping the Phillies out of South Florida.

    “We’re just not playing complementary baseball,” said Trea Turner. “Feels like when we hit, we don’t pitch as well, and when we pitch well, we don’t hit. It’s just frustrating.”

    Don Mattingly on Bryce Harper’s belief the Phillies need ‘help’ at deadline: ‘Players like being GMs’

    In a pivotal spot in the seventh inning, interim manager Don Mattingly opted to go with righty Seth Johnson, and he struggled to command his pitches. After he left a slider up in the zone for Xavier Edwards, who capitalized with a two-run single, the Marlins had come all the way back to tie it at 6.

    The Phillies have played 29 one-run games — over a quarter of the season so far — and they have taken their toll on the back end of the bullpen. Both Orion Kerkering and José Alvarado were unavailable Wednesday after pitching two nights in a row. That left Jonathan Bowlan as the highest-leverage arm available, outside of closer Jhoan Duran.

    When Mattingly went to make a pitching change for starter Jesús Luzardo with one out in the seventh, he decided to save Bowlan for the eighth, even though the tying run was already on first.

    “Trying to get a short amount of outs [for Johnson], compared to Bowlan trying to get more,” Mattingly said.

    Jesús Luzardo gave up six earned runs in 6⅓ innings against the Marlins on Wednesday.Rebecca Blackwell

    When Bowlan did enter in the eighth, now in a 6-6 game, Miami delivered the knockout punch. Pinch-hitting Griffin Conine — who had walked off the series opener against Duran — sent a two-run homer out of the deepest part of the ballpark.

    The collapse stung all the more because the offense had shown some promising signs early. By the end of the third inning, the Phillies had already matched their hit total of four from the night prior. And unlike in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss, they had some runs to show for it, after Bryson Stott’s double drove in two.

    The Phillies tacked on another run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly, and sparked another rally in the fifth. Turner, who started at designated hitter with Kyle Schwarber unavailable due to a gastrointestinal illness, started things off with a solo homer.

    The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.

    Stott walked, before Harper tucked an RBI triple just inside the right field foul line. A single from Alec Bohm brought Harper home, but that would prove to be the Phillies’ final hit of the day.

    “We expect better of ourselves,” Turner said.

    Even so, a 6-0 buffer should have been plenty for Luzardo. While the bullpen has been a weakness for the Phillies for most of the season, their top three starters have been relied on to carry the load. And Luzardo was cruising early against his former team, until a lapse in the fifth helped Miami halve the Phillies’ lead.

    Esteury Ruiz hit a leadoff double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on an RBI groundout. Luzardo also hit Miami’s No. 8 hitter with a pitch, but he was a strike away from getting out of the jam when Heriberto Hernández blasted a two-run homer on a 3-2 changeup elevated in the zone.

    Don Mattingly’s Phillies have lost seven of their last eight games and nine of 12 games since the All-Star break.Rebecca Blackwell

    “My own fault,” Luzardo said. “Lefty on deck, I had a lot of things in my mind. Probably should have thrown something else, or been a little more aggressive with it. And that’s why I was kicking myself afterwards, just knowing who was on deck and just giving in on a 3-2 pitch.”

    He got into more trouble in the seventh. Ruiz started things off again, this time with a leadoff single. He stole second and then advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher J.T. Realmuto.

    The key at-bat came against Miami’s nine-hole hitter, lefty Jakob Marsee. Luzardo jumped ahead in the count 1-2, but ultimately lost the battle by issuing a walk. It turned the lineup back over to Otto Lopez, who singled off a changeup below the zone to score another run and end Luzardo’s day.

    “Frustrating,” Luzardo said. “We knew they were going to come out a little hungry after losing 12 in a row. But I mean, just frustrating the way it happened.”

    With the trade deadline looming, Bryce Harper says Phillies ‘need some help’

    After Miami tied the game, the Phillies offense had no response. They went down in order in the eighth and ninth inning to seal their latest deflating loss.

    This marks the first time the Phillies have been swept in a series since their 10-game losing streak in April, which cost Rob Thomson his job as manager. But this skid feels a little different.

    For one thing, time is running out.

    “Earlier, those things happen, you try to learn from it, and now at this point in the year, you gotta find a way to win ball games,” Turner said. “And it’s kind of go time. So got to figure it out.”

    There surely will be changes to the roster in the coming days as the trade deadline approaches on Monday. But for Mattingly, now is when the true test of his club begins.

    “Now’s the time that we’re going to find out what we’re made of,” Mattingly said. “We’ve been through a struggle. We’ve let everybody stay in the race. So we find out who we are over these next couple of months.”

  • Don Mattingly on Bryce Harper’s belief the Phillies need ‘help’ at deadline: ‘Players like being GMs’

    Don Mattingly on Bryce Harper’s belief the Phillies need ‘help’ at deadline: ‘Players like being GMs’

    MIAMI — Less than an hour after the Phillies suffered their fourth consecutive series loss after the All-Star break, Bryce Harper threw down the proverbial gauntlet.

    “I think we need some help,” Harper said. “I think we’ve proved pretty much all year, we’ve done a pretty good job, but anytime you can get some help in here and reinforcements, I think it helps.”

    With the trade deadline approaching at 6 p.m. on Monday, Harper said he thinks the Phillies need upgrades in the pitching staff and the lineup. It was a clear message to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and the front office.

    The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.

    It’s a message that interim manager Don Mattingly doesn’t necessarily like. Mattingly, whose son Preston works under Dombrowski as the Phillies’ general manager, said he doesn’t think the rest of the team is focused on the upcoming deadline.

    “I sense Bryce thinking about it, I don’t really sense anybody else thinking about it, honestly,” Mattingly said. “And you’ve been through this. Guys want to be GMs. What you need, without a real understanding of where the organization is, exactly where this thing goes, not only this year, but moving forward. So again, players like being GMs and making calls and spending other people’s money, so just let it go at that.

    “I mean, they’ve been doing this a while. Never really backed away trying to get guys. We’re trying to get better. We’re going to try to get better at the deadline.”

    Bryce Harper was batting .165 with 28 strikeouts in 79 at-bats in July going into Wednesday’s game.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    As manager, Mattingly’s focus is on getting improvements out of the players who are on the 26-man roster until the point that additions or subtractions are made.

    And despite the Phillies’ recent struggles — they entered Wednesday’s series finale in Miami with a 3-8 record since the All-Star break — he believes those improvements will come.

    “How do I feel right now about how we’re playing, that hasn’t been great,” Mattingly said. “I feel good about our team. I felt that way the whole time. … Obviously, we’re in a period of time that we haven’t played great since the break.”

    Two players who could help the Phillies address their biggest trade deadline need

    He added that he wasn’t necessarily bothered by Harper’s comments, but he didn’t like that they could be construed as criticism of the players currently on the team.

    “I think you’re always trying to get better. You should always incrementally try to get better, no matter who you are,” Mattingly said. “If you’re the Dodgers, who won two straight [World Series], they’re trying to get better in different ways. We’re in the same boat, right? You’re always trying to get better, but if you say something about our team, then you’re saying something about one of our players that you don’t like.”

    Mattingly said he doesn’t feel the need to discuss this with Harper, though.

    “I mean, Bryce is going to say what he wants, so I’m not really concerned about it,” he said. “I take it kind of with a grain of salt, and knowing how players are over the years. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this. … I always look at it internally. I got to get better. We got to get better, and it’s as simple as that.”

    Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber was out of the lineup again on Wednesday due to an illness.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer

    Schwarber out again

    Kyle Schwarber was out of the Phillies lineup Wednesday for the second consecutive game with a gastrointestinal illness. Mattingly said he wasn’t sure if Schwarber would improve enough to be available off the bench in an emergency situation.

    “[He’s] kind of the same. Yeah. He may be a little better, but obviously not in there,” Mattingly said.

    Schwarber missed three games in May with a similar issue. In his absence on Wednesday, Trea Turner got the start at designated hitter. Edmundo Sosa took over at shortstop against Marlins right-handed starter Ryan Gusto.

    Andrew Painter had a solid week in triple A. Is he an option to rejoin the Phillies’ rotation soon?

    Mattingly said giving Turner a day to reset from his defensive struggles this season — in the series opener, he committed his 19th error of the season and seventh since the All-Star break at shortstop — was not a factor in his decision. Instead, he wanted to get Turner a day off the turf at loanDepot Park, after previously giving Harper a day at designated hitter on Tuesday.

    “More just getting him off his feet,” Mattingly said. “Kind of feel like we’re getting him back to the point where his legs are good and all that, so try to keep it there.”

    Derek Hill, who has not appeared in a game since July 25 with “lower body stuff,” according to Mattingly, has improved, but the Phillies manager was unsure if he would be available off the bench Wednesday.

    Extra bases

    The Phillies announced that reliever Brad Keller underwent successful surgery on his right elbow in Texas on Wednesday. Keller is expected to return to pitch in 13-16 months. … Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz got another start against a right-hander on Wednesday after a two-hit night on Tuesday.. … The Phillies have not yet announced who is set to open Friday’s series opener against Baltimore, which is expected to be a bullpen game. Right-hander Brandon Young (8-2, 3.13 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Orioles.

  • Joe Girardi enjoys broadcasting, but he’d like to manage again. He’ll get a chance next month in Philly.

    Joe Girardi enjoys broadcasting, but he’d like to manage again. He’ll get a chance next month in Philly.

    Joe Girardi was driving earlier this month when he spotted a youth baseball game near his home in New York. He had to stop. Girardi, the former Phillies manager, stood in the outfield and watched the group of 7- and 8-year-olds.

    “I was a little worried about the kids,” Girardi said. “Because I coached my son when he was in coach pitch and the thing I hated to hear the most was the ice cream truck. Because I knew at that point that I lost him. The ice cream truck was there and I was a little worried about these kids, but they only had a half inning to go and they got through it.”

    It’s been more than four years since Girardi last managed in the majors, but the 61-year-old has yet to leave the game. He works as a TV commentator for Yankees broadcasts, was in the booth Sunday for the Yankees-Phillies game, and is sometimes the guy in the outfield hoping no one hears the ice cream truck.

    Kyle Kendrick feared the worst after his son was hit by a car. Now Kyle Jr. is back on the field and hitting homers.

    He’s open to managing again, a job he did for 14 seasons. He won a World Series in 2009 with the Yankees against the Phils, was the National League Manager of the Year in 2006 with the Marlins, and guided the Phillies for two-plus seasons before being fired early in the 2022 season.

    “If I had an opportunity, I would love to listen to that,” Girardi said. “But I’m happy with what I’m doing, and if I never get an opportunity, I’m OK with that.”

    Next month, Girardi will return to the dugout in South Philly to manage a team in the Perfect Game All-American Classic on Aug. 16 at Citizens Bank Park. The annual showcase brings together the country’s 60 best high school seniors, many of whom will be drafted next summer. Girardi will manage in his old ballpark.

    Joe Girardi will be back in his old ballpark, Citizens Bank Park, on Aug. 16 managing in the Perfect Game All-American Classic.ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer

    “This is a thrill for me,” Girardi said. “This is a celebration of what they’ve accomplished so far, but it’s just the surface of what they can accomplish. I’m excited to see it because I’m amazed at the young talent that’s out there right now and how good these young players are and how physical they are.

    “I’m excited to see this game and just be a part of it. These kids dream about playing in the big leagues, and you’ll have a lot of first- and second-round picks from this game in 2027. They’re a lot closer than they think. It will be enjoyable for me one day to say, ‘Oh, I managed that kid four years ago and now he’s in the big leagues.’ That’s exciting for me.”

    No regrets

    Girardi’s broadcasting work reminds him of the one thing he does not miss about managing a big-league club.

    “We got to the hotel here in Chicago at 2:15 a.m., and I don’t miss that,” Girardi said Monday before calling that night’s Yankees-White Sox game.

    He approaches his TV work with the same detail he brought to the dugout. He was armed Sunday night with stats and data to support his analysis during the Phillies-Yankees game on NBC, sounding a lot like the manager who came prepared to afternoon sessions with reporters.

    Tom Burgoyne insists he’s just the Phanatic’s best friend. A new documentary convinced him to admit he’s more.

    “I enjoy studying the other team and how to beat them,” Girardi said. “That’s what I love. I watch a ton of games. I watch the home broadcasts so I watched the Phillies for a week and picked up little things about their club and what’s going on. I just feel like that’s the best way to scout. And I dig into the numbers heavily. That’s what I love about it.”

    The Phillies missed the postseason on the season’s final day in Girardi’s first year, a 60-game season in 2020 without fans that was delayed after the pandemic halted spring training. Girardi was hired because of his pedigree with the Yankees and wonders if things would have been different in Philly under normal circumstances.

    “Yes, I do,” Girardi said. “Just that everything was so closed down and I felt like we couldn’t be people. We weren’t supposed to slap high fives with guys if they scored or hit a home run. I remember the time that Miami got sick and they were at our ballpark and we had to shut down for a few days. I drove into the parking lot and they handed me the thing to spit in. A guy in a Hazmat suit. Then I drove around after I spit and gave it to another guy out the driver side window. I was like ‘This is the life we’re living.’ It was just so strange.”

    “I don’t look back with any regrets. I enjoyed my time in Philadelphia.”

    A masked Joe Girardi greets then-Marlins manager Don Mattingly in their season opener for the 2020 season that was reduced to 60 games because of the COVID pandemic.CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

    The Phillies fell short again in 2021, and Girardi was fired in June 2022 after a slow start. Rob Thomson, Girardi’s bench coach, took over and guided the Phillies to the World Series. The Phillies fired Thomson in April and replaced him with Don Mattingly. He seemed to have the same touch as Thomson four years ago as the Phils inched toward first place before stumbling the last few weeks. Girardi knows how it feels to be the guy at home watching your team win without you.

    “I felt bad for him,” Girardi said. “It’s hard because I know how much Rob put into it. They got off to a slow start and were playing two teams who were extremely hot in the Cubs and the Braves, and he got let go. I feel really bad for him.

    “It’s hard to just be let go. Because you give up so much to manage. You’re rewarded handsomely as a manager, but you give up a lot of family things and you dedicate yourself to the team, and I always felt a huge responsibility for everyone because if we didn’t do well, it affected a lot of people. It wasn’t just me. It could affect my coaches, the front office, other people. It’s just hard to be let go because you put your heart and soul into it.”

    Full circle

    Girardi was between managing jobs when he spent the summer of 2018 coaching his son’s youth baseball team. He drove his SUV to Perfect Game tournaments across Florida and up to Georgia while his son Dante folded the back seats to make a bed.

    “I was driving and he was sleeping,” Girardi said. “It was so enjoyable for me because my favorite thing in the game of baseball is to see people have success, and I got the chance to do that. With these Top 60 players, these kids have had a lot of success. And I want to see them have some more.”

    Girardi had already won a World Series as a player and a manager by then, but he learned something that summer managing teenagers.

    Ricky Bottalico ‘tells it like it is’ and understands it might bother some Phillies

    “It was a term that I never heard before,” Girardi said. “Our manager said ‘We have a P.O. coming in.’ I’m going ‘What’s a P.O.?’ For us, that meant something different, right? But it meant ‘Pitcher only.’ They would fly in, pitch a game, and leave. It was like Roger Clemens.”

    Dante Girardi, who played high school ball with Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter, will be on his dad’s coaching staff next month in Philly. It’s full circle, his dad said. The ice cream truck used to ruin his practice, and now they’ll be in the dugout together. And the Perfect Game All-American Game reminds Girardi of an All-Star Game for college summer-league players he played in at Veterans Stadium in the summer of 1984.

    Girardi’s Cape Cod League team shared the visiting clubhouse with the Cubs, who were in town to play the Phillies. The Cubs drafted Girardi two years later, and he reached the majors in 1989. His first manager was Don Zimmer, who he saw that day at the Vet. It all happened so fast.

    “The one thing I want these kids to realize is they’re not that far away,” Girardi said. “In a blink of an eye, you can be an All-Star in the Major League All-Star Game. This is fun for me.”

  • With the trade deadline looming, Bryce Harper says Phillies ‘need some help’

    With the trade deadline looming, Bryce Harper says Phillies ‘need some help’

    MIAMI — With the MLB trade deadline days away, Bryce Harper believes the Phillies have some shopping to do.

    Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to the Marlins marked the club’s fourth consecutive series loss after the All-Star break, and it came against a team that had lost 12 straight games until it met the Phillies. Afterward, Harper was straightforward about how he views the club entering Monday’s trade deadline.

    “I think we need some help,” he said. “I think we’ve proved pretty much all year, we’ve done a pretty good job, but anytime you can get some help in here and reinforcements, I think it helps.”

    It’s no secret that the Phillies need a right-handed hitting outfielder. The Phillies’ current crop of righty bats have a .221 batting average and .640 OPS, which rank last in baseball. They also have struggled for most of the season against left-handed pitching.

    But the Phillies’ lack of pitching depth, in the rotation and bullpen, also has become magnified. The team has lost the last 11 games started by the No. 5 spot in their rotation, while the bullpen has been a revolving door of struggles and injuries.

    The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.

    Both of Dave Dombrowski’s major offseason adds, Adolis García (right latissimus dorsi tear) and Brad Keller (UCL tear in his right elbow), are out for the year because of injury.

    When asked whether the help would be best in the form of an arm or a bat, Harper’s answer was straightforward.

    “I think both,” he said. “I think obviously everybody knows what we need. … We need both.”

    Is he confident the Phillies will have reinforcements in both come Monday night?

    “I don’t know. We’ll see,” he said. “I mean, that’s a Dave question. So, yeah, I mean, we’ll see.”

  • Without Kyle Schwarber, Phillies blanked by Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins

    Without Kyle Schwarber, Phillies blanked by Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins

    MIAMI — It got to the point where Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly started making a list.

    Sitting in the visitors’ dugout, watching well-hit ball after well-hit ball result in outs against the Marlins, he began marking them down.

    • Third inning: Trea Turner line out to left field (101.7 mph exit velocity)
    • Fourth inning: Bryce Harper fly out to center field (106 mph)
    • Fourth inning: Alec Bohm fly out to right field (99.3 mph)
    • Fifth inning: Garrett Stubbs line out to center field (97.7 mph)
    • Seventh inning: Edmundo Sosa line out to third base (106 mph)

    “Not that they’re all going to be hits, but those balls are hit good, so I was halfway OK with that,” Mattingly said. “Obviously, you want to score more runs.”

    LeBron James and nine other stars who stunned Philly simply by coming here

    If one or two of those had fallen, the story of Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to Miami could have been different. But moral victories mean little for a team with playoff expectations and a floundering offense as the trade deadline closes in.

    In reality, the Phillies mustered four hits against the Marlins, with outfielder Bryan De La Cruz accounting for half of those. Miami starter Sandy Alcantara took a no-hitter into the fifth inning until De La Cruz broke it up with an infield single.

    The lackluster offensive performance wasted a solid outing from Aaron Nola, who surrendered only one run over 5⅔ innings.

    “Sandy was on point pretty well tonight,” Harper said. “Yeah, that’s one obviously I thought we could have won, with the swings we took tonight and the way Nola pitched.”

    He added that he thought his fourth-inning fly out was gone, until Marlins center fielder Jakob Marsee made a jumping catch right at the wall. Harper had squared up a cutter from Alcantara at the bottom of the zone.

    Bohm was the only other Phillie to record a hit on Tuesday, with a single in the sixth.

    The offense was without National League home run leader Kyle Schwarber, who was unavailable because of a gastrointestinal illness. But even before Schwarber was on the shelf, the team had been scuffling. They have lost four consecutive series out of the All-Star break.

    The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.

    “I don’t think it’s a bad stretch. I think we’ve run into some really good pitching,” Harper said. “Some buzz saws, actually.”

    Harper pointed to the Mets’ Nolan McLean, the Yankees’ Cam Schlittler and Ryan Weathers, and Alcantara as pitchers who have befuddled the Phillies offense recently.

    But for a team to go the distance in October, they must find a way to succeed against top-tier arms. With the trade deadline approaching on Monday, Harper is hoping for reinforcements.

    “I think we need some help,” Harper said. “I think we’ve proved pretty much all year, we’ve done a pretty good job, but anytime you can get some help in here and reinforcements, I think it helps.”

    Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara allowed four hits in seven shutout innings against the Phillies on Tuesday.Lynne Sladky

    The fruitless offense on Tuesday was even more deflating considering Nola’s outing. He made just one costly mistake, hanging a curveball to Kyle Stowers in the first inning that he promptly sent 390 feet to right-center field. It marked the 26th homer Nola has allowed this year, which is the second-most among all pitchers.

    But that was the only run he allowed. Nola worked around five hits and three walks to keep it a 1-0 ballgame and give his offense a chance. He found that his curveball didn’t have as much bite as normal, so he leaned more on his changeup.

    “Changeup used to be one of my better pitches. I worked on it a lot this year just to try to get it to where I want to feel it, and lately it’s been a lot better than it has been the past couple years,” Nola said. “I feel like it makes the game a little bit smoother and opens the curveball up a little bit.”

    With the trade deadline looming, Bryce Harper says Phillies ‘need some help’

    Of the 93 pitches Nola threw, 34 were changeups, which he mixed in to lefties and righties.

    Nola got into some trouble after retiring the first two batters in the sixth inning. Xavier Edwards drew a four-pitch walk, and, although Tim Mayza had been warming, Mattingly left Nola in to face left-hander Liam Hicks for the third time.

    Hicks singled to put runners on the corners, and Mayza then took over. He struck out pinch-hitting righty Esteury Ruiz to leave them there. After that, José Alvarado and Orion Kerkering delivered a scoreless seventh and eighth, respectively.

    “They kept giving us chances. We just weren’t able to break through,” Mattingly said.

    With one final opportunity, the Phillies went down in order against Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks. Sosa struck out on a pitch well above the zone to end it.

    “We’re still in good spot. We just got to get through this and fight through it,” Mattingly said. “It’s like a slump offensively. You’re going to keep going, and you’re counting on it to turn. That comes with work.”

  • Illness keeps Kyle Schwarber out of lineup; Phillies not concerned about Zack Wheeler

    Illness keeps Kyle Schwarber out of lineup; Phillies not concerned about Zack Wheeler

    MIAMI — Kyle Schwarber was out of the Phillies lineup on Tuesday with an illness, interim manager Don Mattingly said.

    It is a similar gastrointestinal issue to the one that caused Schwarber to miss three games in May. In his absence, Bryson Stott moved to second in the batting order against Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins, behind Trea Turner at leadoff.

    “I hope it’s a day, but we’ll see,” Mattingly said.

    Before the illness, Schwarber was scheduled to start at first base Tuesday to give Bryce Harper a game at designated hitter. Alec Bohm instead moved over to first, and Edmundo Sosa took over at third base.

    The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.

    The Phillies’ bench was short on Tuesday. Derek Hill has been dealing with what Mattingly described as “lower-half stuff,” and has not appeared in a game since Saturday.

    “We expect D-Hill back in a day or so, where he’s kind of full-go again, where I can use him in different ways,” Mattingly said pregame on Tuesday.

    Bryan De La Cruz got the start in right field against the right-handed Alcantara over Gabriel Rincones Jr., who went 0-for-3 on Monday. Rincones has a .171 average in 28 games since being called up in June.

    “Rico’s been given a decent runway against right-handed pitching. Hasn’t been as good as we’d like,” Mattingly said. “De La’s been getting his hits, and I know he’s going to be solid in the outfield and all that. So I don’t feel like it’s going to be worse than what we’re seeing.”

    Zack Wheeler lasted just three innings against the Marlins on Monday and allowed five runs.Lynne Sladky

    No concerns about Wheeler

    Even though Zack Wheeler’s average fastball velocity was down 1.7 mph in his start on Monday, neither he nor Mattingly expressed concern afterward that a health issue contributed to the drop.

    All of Wheeler’s pitches trended down in the three innings he pitched in the 8-7 loss to Miami, which was his shortest outing since 2022. But he said physically he felt fine, even though the ball was not coming out the way he wanted it to.

    “Just no excuse. It’s just one of those days for me. Stinks, but it is what it is, I guess,” Wheeler said.

    On Tuesday, the Phillies maintained that there was no concern about an injury affecting him.

    “Nothing medical has come our way,” Mattingly said.

    Catcher Garrett Stubbs was back in the Phillies lineup on Tuesday against the Marlins.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Stubbs returns

    Backup catcher Garrett Stubbs was reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday and was in the Phillies lineup. Stubbs had been on the shelf with left wrist inflammation and had not appeared behind the plate in a game since July 5. His last two appearances before the injury were pitching in blowout games.

    As a corresponding move, catcher Payton Henry was optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley. Henry was recalled Friday when Rafael Marchán also wound up on the injured list with patellar tendinitis in his left knee, but did not appear in a game. J.T. Realmuto started four consecutive games instead and got the day off on Tuesday.

    Andrew Painter had a solid week in triple A. Is he an option to rejoin the Phillies’ rotation soon?

    Realmuto has been swinging a hot bat lately, with a .395 batting average and .942 OPS since July 11. That included a ground-rule double in Monday’s loss to the Marlins.

    Extra bases

    Brad Keller (torn UCL in right elbow) received a second opinion on his injury and will decide the next step soon. … Jesús Luzardo (9-5, 3.31 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday’s 12:10 p.m. series finale. The Marlins’ scheduled starter has not been announced.

  • LeBron James and nine other stars who stunned Philly simply by coming here

    LeBron James and nine other stars who stunned Philly simply by coming here

    Jayson Werth was sleeping on his couch when Pat Gillick called him in the winter of 2006. Zack Wheeler is one of the best pitchers in baseball yet wasn’t the highest-paid pitcher in his free-agent class.

    If we’re talking about the best signings in Philadelphia sports history then Werth — a flier who became an essential piece of a great Phillies era — and Wheeler — an underpaid pitcher who should’ve won two Cy Young Awards — would have a case. But that’s not this list.

    These are the 10 players whose arrival to Philadelphia via trade or free agency made you stop in your tracks, text your group chats, and blast sports talk radio as if it was your favorite song. These are the acquisitions that felt like championships. Would anyone have been opposed if the Sixers dropped a banner last week that said “We Signed LeBron?”

    Here’s a list of 10 players (including LeBron James) who brought Philadelphia to a halt in the last 50 years simply by coming here.

    Honorable mentions: Jeremy Roenick, A.J. Brown, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Peter Forsberg, Ricky Watters, Paul Coffey, Lance Parrish.

    Saquon Barkley smiles while meeting with the local media during an introductory news conference in March 2024.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    10. Saquon Barkley, 2024

    It’s easy to forget now but this move was met by some with trepidation: Why did the Eagles pay for a running back? How much does Barkley have left? Those questions were soon dismissed and the fanfare around the trade only grew that summer when John Mara said he would lose sleep if Barkley was an Eagle. Then, Barkley scored three times against Green Bay to open a special season. There was never a reason to have angst.

    Jim Thome hit 89 home runs in his first two seasons with the Phillies.

    9. Jim Thome, 2002

    How important was it to land Jim Thome? Even Johnny Doc got involved. The Phillies were a season away from opening Citizens Bank Park and needed a big name to drum up interest in a franchise that hadn’t done much since 1993. Enter Thome. The Phillies blew him away with an offer that Cleveland could not match. The Phils were suddenly relevant again.

    Cliff Lee, being presented with his jersey during a news conference, had a 2.94 ERA in five seasons with the Phillies.Laurence Kesterson / Staff Photographer

    8. Cliff Lee, 2010

    The excitement felt two months earlier with the arrival of Roy Halladay was tempered by the accompanying trade of Lee to Seattle. Lee became a hero in October of 2009 when he casually dominated the Yankees in the World Series. In December, he was gone. And it was pure joy when the Phils operated in secret — they were the “Mystery Team” — and signed Lee late at night at the winter meetings. Lee’s return was doubly sweet when it was reported that he picked the Phils over a better offer from the Yankees. The Four Aces were assembled 12 days before Christmas and the Daily News headline the next morning nailed it: Merry Cliffmas.

    Terrell Owens is all smiles after a September 2004 Eagles win.JERRY LODRIGUSS / Staff Photographer

    7. Terrell Owens, 2004

    You knew Owens’ arrival was a big deal when they lit up “WE GOT T.O.” at the top of the PECO building, which then felt like the city’s way to celebrate big events. It took 12 days for the Eagles to land Owens, who had agreed to a deal with the Eagles before the 49ers traded him to Baltimore after his agent missed the deadline to void the final years of his contract and make him a free agent. A hearing was held at Penn where lawyers from the NFL and NFLPA argued if Owens should have been granted free agency. The parties agreed on a settlement: a three-way trade between the Eagles, 49ers, and Ravens that brought Owens to Philly. The team landed the piece they were missing after three straight losses in the NFC Championship Game. The party — remember his first preseason game? — was on.

    The Daily News on July 1, 1992 with the news that the Flyers won the rights to 19-year-old center Eric Lindros, completing a blockbuster deal with Quebec.

    6. Eric Lindros, 1992

    The Flyers agreed to a deal with the Quebec Nordiques for Lindros before the 1992 NHL draft. But so did the Rangers. Now what? An arbitrator ruled that the Flyers-Nordiques deal came first so Lindros — who refused to play for Quebec and skipped the previous NHL season — belonged to Philly. Fans still remember the name Larry Bertuzzi, who was the arbiter who ruled in the Flyers’ favor. Lindros was pegged as a generational player and the best talent to enter the NHL since Mario Lemieux. The Flyers were five years removed from their last trip to the Stanley Cup Finals and Philly was still very much a hockey town. The arrival of Lindros was huge.

    The Sixers and coach Billy Cunningham (left) rode to the championship in Moses Malone’s first season in Philly in 1982-83.(Philadelphia Daily News/George Reynolds)

    5. Moses Malone, 1982

    Who better to add after losing in the NBA Finals than the NBA MVP? That’s what happened to the Sixers after they fell to the Lakers in 1982 and went after Moses Malone. So how did they land him? Cash. Houston had the right to match any offer Malone signed since he was a restricted free agent so Harold Katz built a deal that he knew the new Rockets ownership group could not match. The contract was the largest in NBA history and was built on cash instead of deferred payments, stocks, or bonds. Katz said Houston would lose money if they agreed to the terms. They agreed with Katz and worked out a sign-and-trade to send Malone to Philly. The headlines wrote themselves — “76ers Hope to Follow Moses to Playoffs’ Promised Land,” said the Daily News back page — as the Sixers looked for their missing piece after promising Philly that they owed them a title. “There is good money to be spent and there is bad money. Money for Moses Malone is good money,” Katz said. His “Good money” was “Stupid Money” before “Stupid Money.”

    Pete Rose (right) tells the media in 1978 that negotiations with Phillies owner Ruly Carpenter (left) were unsuccessful. Rose wanted more money than the Phillies were offering.Bill Ingraham

    4. Pete Rose, 1978

    Pete Rose came to Veterans Stadium in 1978, met with the Phillies, and then held a news conference — sitting alongside owner Ruly Carpenter — to say he declined the team’s offer that was substantially lower than others. Can you imagine that happening today? The Phils were out on Rose, who they thought was the player needed to get over the hump after years of near misses. But they got back in the box a week later at the winter meetings in Disney World. The Phillies upped their offer and landed Rose. No player until James came to Philly with a track record like Rose: an MVP, two World Series titles, three batting crowns, and on his way to becoming baseball’s hit king. And it almost didn’t happen. Inquirer columnist Larry Eichel wrote the next day that Rose was “the hired torch brought here in the hopes that his undying competitive fire will catch and ignite a team known as much for its listlessness and studied nonchalance as for its performance.” The Phillies were hoping for more than just a player but a new identity. Sounds familiar.

    Julius Erving shakes hands with 76ers owner Fitz Eugene Dixon at a news conference to announce the signing of the former ABA star on Oct. 21, 1976.A

    3. Dr. J, 1976

    The Sixers outbid the Lakers and the Bucks to land Erving, who won three straight MVP awards in the ABA with the Nets and was considered to be the best player in the world. He reimagined the slam dunk earlier that year and kids dreamed of being like the Doctor long before they wanted to “Be Like Mike.” Like James, Dr. J was more than a basketball star: he was a celebrity. And he joined a team that made the playoffs the previous season for the first time in four years. The dormant Sixers were finally starting to emerge.

    Bryce Harper is introduced to the Phillies with his new friend the Phanatic during a news conference on March 2, 2019 in Clearwater, Fla.Mike Ehrmann / MCT

    2. Bryce Harper, 2019

    You thought LeBron James took awhile to make a decision? The Bryce Harper chase lasted months and bled into spring training before Harper finally joined the Phils days after John Middleton flew his private jet to Las Vegas to give a final sales pitch. The saga was long, but it was filled with great drama: The Phils went to Vegas to meet Harper, hosted Manny Machado at Citizens Bank Park, lost Machado to the Padres, and then seemed to be losing Harper to the Dodgers. But then Middleton’s “Stupid Money” prevailed. It was euphoria best summed up by the 8-year-old kid who got off the school bus to learn Harper was a Phil: “What!? No. No. He’s a Dodger. You’re joking!”

    Can LeBron and the Sixers win it all? We ran the numbers, and here’s how Philly’s revamped roster stacks up.

    Harper beats out Dr. J and Rose because sports are just a bigger industry now than they were then. Every move — and flight — was tracked all offseason as the Phillies pursued their guy. Those other moves took a few weeks to finish. This was a quest. The team store at Citizens Bank Park ran out of the letter “E” to make Harper jerseys and Fanatics said it was the most popular sports jersey in a player’s first 48 hours with a team. The Phillies sold more than 100,000 tickets in the hours after Harper signed as everyone was swept up in the hysteria. The reactions were just different in 2019 than they were in 1976 or 1978.

    LeBron James picked the Sixers to play with for his 24th NBA season in 2026-27.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    1. LeBron James, 2026

    It made basketball sense for James to pick Philly after the Sixers traded for Jaylen Brown. James could join a win-ready roster with Brown, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid. Of course, he’s coming to Philly. But then the decision slowed down. Maybe we were thinking with our hearts and not our minds. The insiders narrowed his choice to Miami or Cleveland with Philly being a No. 3. And then came the best Friday news dump in Philadelphia history: James was joining the 76ers. It was the biggest transaction in the history of Philadelphia sports. Harper was exciting. This was bigger. Dr. J moved the needle but not like this. Pete Rose? Sorry, Charlie Hustle. That was no match for LeBron’s arrival. No matter what happens next, you’ll always remember where you were last Friday when LeBron picked Philly.

  • The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.

    The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.

    Whatever the prediction models say about the Phillies’ chances to win the World Series — 5.8%, according to FanGraphs; 1.5%, from Baseball Reference — let’s agree on one thing.

    The road will probably run through the Dodgers.

    It’s not only that the two-time defending champs are playing at a 102-win pace. They’re also finally getting healthy. With Edwin Díaz and Kiké Hernández due to return this week and Blake Snell soon to follow, who needs the trade deadline?

    At last check, five of the Dodgers’ seven best healthy hitters bat from the left side. The thought of running through a gauntlet of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Kyle Tucker, and Dalton Rushing in the late innings has made one lefty reliever especially popular in trade talks leading up to Monday’s 6 p.m. deadline.

    Remember the name: Adrián Morejón.

    It’s clear what the Phillies need at the trade deadline. Do they have the prospect capital to get it?

    “Everybody” is asking the Padres about Morejón,“ a major league source said, “especially in the National League.” The 27-year-old pending free agent has a fastball that averages 99.4 mph and a 27.4% strikeout rate to go with a 3.20 ERA.

    Oh, and he has allowed one homer to a left-handed hitter (old friend Mickey Moniak of the Rockies) in the last two seasons.

    As constituted, the Phillies are a tough matchup for the Dodgers, especially in a seven-game series, because of lefty starters Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo. Los Angeles gets considerably more production from the left side of the plate (.809 OPS) than the right (.720).

    But the Phillies’ best lefty reliever is José Alvarado, who has a 6.00 ERA despite allowing only one run in his last seven appearances. While team officials cite underlying metrics, such as batting average on balls in play (.412) and expected ERA (3.66), to claim that Alvarado has been unlucky, he also has given up a higher-than-usual rate of line drives and fly balls.

    Phillies lefty reliever José Alvarado entered the week with a 6.16 ERA in 44 appearances.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Tim Mayza, a groundball pitcher with his best strikeout rate (24.2%) since 2023, is the second lefty. He has an 8.68 ERA this month. Beyond that, Tanner Banks is out until at least mid-September with a strained left forearm.

    So, it would make sense for Morejón to top the Phillies’ list of deadline targets, though it remains unclear if he will even be available.

    The Padres are among the NL’s biggest underachievers, with a 53-53 record. But after sweeping the Marlins last weekend — aided by 2⅓ hitless innings from Morejón — they were two games out of a wild-card spot. And their last six games before the deadline are against the woeful Rockies and Giants.

    Phillies trade deadline preview: Bullpen is becoming a top priority, and maybe the Mets can provide answers

    With a good week, the Padres could buy — or stand pat, at least — and take their chances with Morejón and star closer Mason Miller at the back of the bullpen. If they stub their toe again, moving Morejón’s expiring contract could be among their first trades.

    The Mets have two veteran lefties who are eminently available. And Brooks Raley (2.09 ERA) and A.J. Minter (2.45) auditioned for scouts against the Dodgers last weekend.

    Raley, 38, got three outs, including Ohtani, on seven pitches in the seventh inning Sunday, two days after giving up back-to-back hits to Tucker and Teoscar Hernández and a sacrifice fly to Ohtani. Minter, 32, allowed a two-run homer to Tucker in the eighth inning Friday.

    Both lefties will get traded. But would the out-of-contention Mets deal them to a division rival?

    The Red Sox paid a high price last weekend to acquire righty-hitting infielder Curtis Mead from the Nationals.Rick Scuteri

    The price for right

    In a one-for-one swap of major leaguers last Saturday night, the Red Sox acquired infielder Curtis Mead from the Nationals for Connelly Early, a 24-year-old lefty starter with six pitches and five years of club control.

    At first blush, three rival scouts said Boston overpaid.

    But it also appears to be indicative of the market for right-handed bats, with demand far surpassing supply. Mike Trout and Byron Buxton don’t seem inclined to waive no-trade protection; the Orioles have pending free agent Taylor Ward and a losing record but remain in wild-card contention. The Reds were listening on Spencer Steer before putting him on the injured list with a sprained wrist that may end his season.

    The Phillies still need a right-handed bat. Let’s take an early dive into some options before the trade deadline.

    Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni told reporters he was “not really expecting to consider anything for Curtis” until the Sox came with a “pretty darn aggressive” offer. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said it was “incredibly uncomfortable” to deal Early but called it a “need-for-need-type trade.”

    There isn’t a team that needs a right-handed bat more than the Phillies, last in the majors in on-base percentage (.280) and OPS (.640) from the right side of the plate.

    One option: the Royals’ Lane Thomas, who hits lefties and would be a platoon option with Brandon Marsh or perhaps Gabriel Rincones Jr. The Phillies looked into Thomas two years ago before he got traded to the Guardians.

    The Phillies had a scout in San Francisco over the weekend. The Giants are reportedly open to moving Heliot Ramos, more of an everyday solution. But given that he’d come with three years of club control, an overpay might be required to land the 2024 All-Star.

    Mets righty Clay Holmes is scheduled to make his second minor-league start Tuesday night in his return from a leg fracture.Jessie Alcheh

    Searching for Holmes

    With rain in the forecast Tuesday in the Northeast, the Mets relocated righty Clay Holmes’ minor-league rehab start to a low-A game in Florida.

    It will be heavily scouted.

    The Phillies dispatched a scout to Syracuse, N.Y., last week for Holmes’ first start in his recovery from a fracture in his right leg. If he’s healthy, the 33-year-old closer-turned-starter could help the Phillies in the rotation in the final two months of the regular season before possibly shifting to a late-inning role in the postseason.

    ‘The game is where it needs to be’: Bryce Harper wants compromise (and no salary cap) to keep sport thriving

    Giants lefty Robbie Ray (1.71 ERA in his last 10 starts) and Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (4.51 ERA) could also be on the move. Like Holmes, they are pending free agents.

    Two rival team officials theorized that the Phillies could reduce the prospect return for a pitcher such as Ray or Gausman by taking on the remainder of the salary. Both are owed about $8 million through the end of the season.

  • Zack Wheeler and Jhoan Duran struggle in walk-off loss to Marlins: ‘Just one of those games’

    Zack Wheeler and Jhoan Duran struggle in walk-off loss to Marlins: ‘Just one of those games’

    MIAMI — The sinker from Zack Wheeler clocked 91.3 mph.

    Javier Sanoja whiffed on it anyway, biting on the inside fastball. But the radar gun didn’t lie. Wheeler’s pitch, which has lived around 95 mph this season, had lost more than just a tick.

    In fact, all of Wheeler’s pitches trended down on Monday against the Marlins. The sinker to Sanoja turned out to be Wheeler’s third-to-last of the night. After Sanoja grounded out back to the mound on a sweeper that didn’t reach 80 mph, the Phillies opted to lift Wheeler after just three innings.

    Both Wheeler and interim manager Don Mattingly said postgame that there were no injury concerns.

    Phillies bullpen gets closer to full strength going into Marlins series

    “Just one of those games, one of those days. Just wasn’t coming out,” Wheeler said. “No excuse.”

    Even after an uncharacteristic performance by one of their aces, the Phillies managed to battle back. They were three outs away from handing Miami its 13th consecutive loss when another pillar of the pitching staff wavered. The Marlins walked it off, 8-7, on closer Jhoan Duran, handing him his second blown save of the year.

    “It was a weird game that they got to two of our very best pitchers,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “That’s just kind of one you got to tip your cap to that lineup over there.”

    Wheeler felt like something was off even in the bullpen pregame. But unlike in past outings, things didn’t improve when the game started. Wheeler walked out to the mound in the first inning already with a two-run lead, courtesy of a home run from Bryce Harper, and it evaporated almost immediately.

    Zack Wheeler and interim manager Don Mattingly said postgame that there were no injury concerns after the ace’s rough start on Monday. Lynne Sladky

    It started with another defensive breakdown after Otto Lopez led off the bottom of the inning with a single. When he stole second, Realmuto’s throw deflected off Bryson Stott’s glove and wound up with Trea Turner. His throw to third base then got away from Alec Bohm, and, propelled by the two errors, Lopez dashed home.

    “Obviously when Harp hits the homer to start the game, you’re like ‘OK,’ and you got Wheels. You’re feeling pretty good. Obviously, that changed pretty quickly,” Mattingly said.

    Because Heriberto Hernández homered two pitches later — on a 93.2 mph sinker — Lopez’s run was still charged to Wheeler. It was the first of five he would allow on Monday, the most Wheeler has given up in an outing since May 29, 2025. Over his three innings, the Marlins racked up six hits, including two homers.

    “One of those days that you see the velocity right away, 93, didn’t seem like it had that same little zip,” Mattingly said. “Usually, you don’t have the zip on the fastball, the breaking ball is not going to be quite as sharp. … He said he felt physically fine, just the ball wasn’t coming out, as far as arm and stuff.”

    ‘I’m tired of people thinking that I’m an easy out’: Alec Bohm delivers after intentional walk in Phillies’ win

    Mattingly added that the Phillies trainers reported Wheeler felt nauseous following the game, but Wheeler refused to use that as an excuse.

    “That didn’t really affect me out there,” he said. “Ball just wasn’t coming out like I wanted it to. Body wasn’t moving like I wanted it to. I was trying to get through it. Some games I can. Just today I couldn’t.”

    Wheeler’s splitter was the only pitch that was somewhat effective, as he recorded four of his six strikeouts with it. His four-seam fastball averaged 93.5 mph, down from 95.2 mph, and it did not induce a single swing-and-miss.

    When Mattingly brought in Kyle Backhus for the fourth, the Phillies were trailing, 5-2. Starting pitching has carried the Phillies this season, while the bullpen outside of Duran has been shaky. But on a night when two of their best pitchers faltered, it was the other relievers who gave the team a fighting chance.

    Phillies closer Jhoan Duran had not allowed a run since June 9 going into Monday’s game.Lynne Sladky

    Backhus covered two scoreless, while José Alvarado, Jonathan Bowlan, and Orion Kerkering pitched an inning to bridge the gap to Duran.

    The offense stepped up, too. A four-hit, four-run sixth inning, highlighted by a ground-rule double from Realmuto, put the Phillies back in front. Realmuto also drove in an insurance run in the eighth for a 7-5 lead, hitting a sacrifice fly to score Stott after he tripled.

    “Being able to pick Zack up like that, after all the times that he’s picked us up in the last seven years, that would have been nice to do,” Realmuto said.

    Andrew Painter had a solid week in triple A. Is he an option to rejoin the Phillies’ rotation soon?

    The Phillies were confident when Duran took the ball to close it out, and for good reason. Entering Monday’s game, the club had been 49-0 entering the ninth inning with a lead this season. Duran had not allowed a run since June 9.

    But things started to feel precarious when back-to-back ground balls found holes in the infield, bringing the winning run to the plate. Neither were hit hard. Lopez’s single had a .080 expected batting average according to StatCast, but it got past a diving Harper.

    “They do a lot of soft contact, so I can’t do anything about that,” Duran said.

    The Marlins’ Griffin Conine (center) celebrates with his teammates after hitting a walk-off single to score Heriberto Hernández and beat the Phillies on Monday in Miami.Lynne Sladky

    Duran then hit Kyle Stowers with a pitch to load the bases. Hernández worked a full count and sent the payoff pitch up the middle to tie the game. Of the five hits Duran gave up, Hernández’s was the only one hit harder than 95 mph.

    Griffin Conine was ultimately the hero for Miami, delivering the walk-off single to snap the Marlins’ losing streak at 12.

    It was a deflating loss, at the expense of two pitchers who have each anchored many of the Phillies’ wins this year. But neither Wheeler nor Duran have any long term concerns about what unfolded Monday night. Nor does Mattingly.

    “Just one of those days. You have a bad day once in a while, I’m sure,” Wheeler said. “So this is one of those days.”