'I like our ballclub': Phils set for stretch run after Deadline moves

PHILADELPHIA -- Dave Dombrowski knows the Phillies have not played well recently, but he still loves his team.

He thinks the four trades they made leading up to Tuesday’s Trade Deadline made them better.

Less than an hour before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline, the Phillies acquired White Sox left-hander Tanner Banks for infield prospect William Bergolla, who was ranked No. 11 in the Phillies’ farm system, per MLB Pipeline. Banks will replace left-hander Gregory Soto, who was traded to the Orioles for Double-A right-hander Seth Johnson and High-A righty Moisés Chace. Johnson checks in as the Phillies’ No. 10 prospect, while Chace will slot in at No. 25.

TRADE DETAILS
Phillies receive: LHP Tanner Banks from White Sox; RHP Seth Johnson, RHP Moisés Chace from Orioles
White Sox receive: INF William Bergolla
Orioles receive: LHP Gregory Soto

Tuesday’s trades capped a bullpen reconstruction that featured two significant additions and two significant subtractions over the past five days. On Saturday, the Phillies acquired closer Carlos Estévez from the Angels for pitching prospects George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri. They got Orioles outfielder Austin Hays on Friday for right-hander Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache.

“We feel very good about it,” Dombrowski said before Tuesday night’s 7-6, 12-inning loss to the Yankees at Citizens Bank Park, giving the Phils 10 losses in their past 14 games. “I like our ballclub. We set out with the goal of trying to get a right-handed bat, which was Austin Hays. We wanted to get another back-end-type guy, if we could, in Estévez. We really like him. He's somebody that could close games or pitch in high-leverage situations.

"We end up getting Tanner Banks -- an arm we like out there. Overall, we really like what we've done. We have a good club. We know we haven't played very well recently, but I think that's going to straighten out.”

Hays hit a three-run home run in the second inning and a game-tying single in the 11th on Tuesday night. He will continue to play every day as the left fielder.

Estévez and Banks will join a bullpen mix that includes Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, José Alvarado and Orion Kerkering.

“We’ve liked Banks for a long time,” Dombrowski said. “Our people have pushed for him. We like his stuff. He’s really been effective vs. left-handed hitters this year. He’s been one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball in that regard, so we thought he was a better fit for our bullpen, at this time, than Soto was.”

Soto never seemed to fit in Philadelphia's bullpen. He had been a closer with the Tigers before they traded him to the Phillies before the 2023 season. But Soto never closed for the Phils. He wanted to, though. He finally got a couple opportunities to pitch the ninth inning last week in Minnesota, but he pitched poorly each time.

The Athletic reported that the Phillies tried to trade Soto to Baltimore last week for Hays. The O's declined at the time.

“We didn't necessarily get him as a closer,” Dombrowski said about Soto. “I think, a lot of times, he envisions himself as a closer, which is fine. He's done fine for us by all means. We weren't dissatisfied with him. But the way we use our 'pen, I'm just not sure there ever was a way that he felt comfortable in that regard.”

Dombrowski said they had no interest in having both Banks and Soto in the same bullpen, so they went back to teams who had expressed interest in Soto as soon as they got Banks.

The Soto deal happened quickly.

Banks, 32, is 2-2 with a 4.13 ERA in 41 appearances this season. He has dominated left-handed hitters, holding them to a .184 batting average and a .492 OPS. He has struck out 28 of the 83 batters he's faced (33.7%).

Conversely, he has been hit hard by right-handed hitters, who are batting .308 with an .849 OPS against him. But Dombrowski said they don’t see Banks as a pure lefty specialist. They think he can get righties out, too.

They think they can help him do that. They have time, too. He won't become a free agent until after the 2028 season.

“Our guys, they think they’d like to do a little bit with the pitch mix,” Dombrowski said.

There were a flurry of trades on Tuesday, but the biggest names rumored to be available were never moved. The list includes White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. A source said earlier this week that the Phillies had been monitoring the Crochet market, but Chicago required at least one of Philadelphia's top prospects in shortstop Aidan Miller or right-hander Andrew Painter.

The Phillies weren’t interested.

“We have some guys I really didn't want to trade,” Dombrowski said. “They’re our upper-echelon guys. And that's why I am absolutely thrilled we made the moves that we made. I know we gave up some talent, but we also have those guys and [Starlyn] Caba and some other guys we're extremely high on. We feel like we really have a good ballclub, and our farm system continues to get better.”

But it doesn’t mean the Phillies weren’t “all-in” as some fans had suggested. The Phillies are all-in. They’ve committed hundreds of millions of dollars to players such as Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber.

They’re all-in.

Now, like Bryce Harper said Sunday: “The superstars got to show up.”