A trio of names appear to be emerging as the Philadelphia Phillies look to improve their bullpen ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber said on Thursday that Carlos Estévez of the Los Angeles Angels, Kyle Finnegan of the Washington Nationals, and Tanner Scott of the Miami Marlins had “piqued the Phillies’ interest.”
This is the second report in as many days involving the Phillies and Finnegan. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the Phillies were interested in both Finnegan and Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas.
Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of The New York Post and Bob Nightengale of USA Today have already stated that the Phillies are interested in Scott.
This is the first official report linking the Phillies to Estévez, although it’s not surprising given the 31-year-old’s 20 saves and 2.38 ERA in 34 games this season for the Angels.
Coincidentally, I wrote yesterday about three reliever/outfielder trades the Phillies may make in the coming days to address their two most pressing needs. The three relievers discussed in that piece? Estevez, Finnegan, and Scott. Since then, it has been evident that the Phillies are interested in all three relievers and at least one outfielder.
It’s worth noting that of the three relievers, Finnegan is the only one who would not be a rental, as he has one more year of arbitration eligibility. Estévez and Scott are both eligible for free agency when the season ends.
That may indicate that Finnegan has the highest asking price of the three. Of course, the Phillies would have him for two postseason runs if they could make a deal with the Nationals for his services.
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