BID CONFIRMED AND DEAL ALMOST DONE: Phillies Have Reportedly Reached Full Agreement To Sign Pair Of Nationals Players Following Loss vs Twins

The Phillies are in about as good a position as any team as the deadline approaches. While Philadelphia has slowed and is only playing at.500 this month, they are nine games ahead of the Braves in the NL East.

They lead the National League by three games over the Dodgers and have possibly the most well-rounded roster in baseball.

They are clearly positioned as buyers and should generate some profit improvements. They’ve been looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder for the past few weeks. The bullpen has struggled this month, indicating another obvious area for improvement.

One of Philadelphia’s division opponents would make an ideal trading partner. According to Matt Gelb of the Athletic, the Philadelphia Phillies are interested in Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas and reliever Kyle Finnegan.

Washington could market both players, who are under arbitration for one more season. The Nationals are contemplating offers for players they control this season and next. They have already traded one such player, setup man Hunter Harvey, to the Royals in one of the more significant moves of what has been a slow deadline season.

Thomas is a right-handed hitter who performs best in platoon situations. In 99 plate appearances this season, he has a.329/.414/.518 batting line against lefties. While a half-season platoon split is a small sample size, Thomas has been a lefty hitter his whole career.

He has a.307/.369/.520 batting line against lefties. Thomas has generated below-average results against righties. This is true again this season, as he is hitting.211/.269/.347 sans the platoon advantage.

The Nationals have maintained that Thomas is more than just a platoon bat on the short side. He has started 73 of the team’s 102 games. Thomas has made a few starts in centre field, but he is better suited to playing in the corner. He’s a mediocre defender, even in right field.

Thomas is not the answer if the Phillies want to replace Johan Rojas in centre field. Philadelphia is looking for a left-handed hitter to complement Brandon Marsh in left. Marsh has an above-average batting line (.274/.350/.448) versus righties over his career. He has struggled against left-handed pitchers, striking out more than 40% of the time and posting a.211/.268/.289 batting line.

According to Gelb, the Phillies are not only searching for right-handed hitters in the outfield. If they signed an everyday player, they could replace either Rojas or Nick Castellanos in right. A Thomas-Marsh platoon in left would provide good results, but it remains to be seen whether the Phillies are prepared to pay Washington’s asking price to instantly limit Thomas’ playing time. The 28-year-old outfielder receives a $5.45 million salary.

Finnegan is a more valuable trading asset. He was named a first-time All-Star this summer following a couple seasons of quietly solid work in Washington’s bullpen. Finnegan has served as their closer for the majority of the past four years. After surrendering three to four earned runs per nine innings for three consecutive seasons, he now has a 2.32 ERA in 42 2/3 innings. Finnegan is 28 for 32 in save opportunities and has good peripherals.

The righty has struck out 26% of hitters faced, with an 8.3% walk rate. He’s hitting 97 mph with his fastball and getting swinging strikes at a respectable 11.8% rate. Finnegan’s stuff is perhaps a little below that of the top few relievers in the game, but he’s a steady effective presence with plenty of ninth-inning experience.

Philadelphia’s closing status has been in upheaval, with José Alvarado squabbling recently. Gregory Soto pitched the ninth inning in a tie game against Minnesota on Wednesday. He hit a batter and gave up a walk-off single on a sacrifice bunt. Soto has been prone to wildness throughout his career, making him an unsuitable candidate for the ninth. Finnegan, who earns $5.1 million, has been a lot more consistent strike thrower.

Thomas and Finnegan may be obvious fits for the Phillies’ needs, but they are undoubtedly only two of many players the front administration is examining. Acquiring either player (or both, in a package transaction) may be hampered given the division’s trade restrictions.

Other right-handed outfielders that could be considered speculative targets include Mark Canha of the Detroit Tigers, Brent Rooker of the Oakland Athletics, and Kevin Pillar of the Angels. (USA Today’s Bob Nightengale linked the Phillies to Rooker earlier this month.) There are plenty of relievers who will be traded in the coming days, with Miami’s Tanner Scott and the Los Angeles Angels’ Carlos Estévez standing out as potential rental closers on terrible teams.

One area that is clearly not a priority: rotation. According to Gelb, the Phillies aren’t focusing on their starting lineup and are still hesitant to trade their best prospects.

MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweeted on Tuesday that the Phillies were talking about Garrett Crochet and Jack Flaherty. Philadelphia already has a good starting five, so it would be surprising if they beat out bids from other clubs in severe need of rotation help for those top-tier starters.