Ahead of the trade deadline during the 2023 season, the Philadelphia Phillies reportedly had interest in making a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, that player is back available in trade conversations this offseason.
The Philadelphia Phillies’ outfield problems proved to be a major worry during the 2023 season, turning it entirely upside down.
With Kyle Schwarber in left field and Nick Castellanos in right because of Bryce Harper’s elbow surgery recuperation, they had one of the worst defenses in Major League Baseball.
When Harper moved to first base, most of it disappeared. Schwarber was able to take over as the team’s full-time designated hitter, and they were able to bring up the excellent defense Johan Rojas from the minor leagues.
Prior to those in-house actions, the Phillies were looking for outfield assistance in time for the trade deadline. According to reports, they had an interest in St. Louis Cardinals player Tyler O’Neill.
In the end, no deal was completed because Dave Dombrowski was satisfied with the new alignment and its projections for the remaining games of the season.
It’s unclear what kind of package St. Louis is asking for in return given O’Neill’s poor performance in the two years since his breakthrough 2021 season.
He only combined for 23 home runs and 79 RBI the previous two seasons after hitting 34 home runs and 80 RBI that year.
Nevertheless, he owns a lifetime slash line of.248/.318/.458, which is a respectable hitting line. He has mostly played left and center field on defense; he did not play right field previous year.
It’s difficult to predict if the Phillies will try to trade for O’Neill in the winter without knowing his asking price, but if they think he’s a player that suits their needs, he’s now open to trade talks.