The MLB trade deadline is on July 30, less than four weeks away. The Philadelphia Phillies have been linked to trade rumours involving an outfielder and another reliever. If a long-term injury occurs prior to the deadline, the club will continue to prioritize roster upgrades.
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report produced an article regarding teams who could be interested in signing Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger. Chicago is 42-49 and ranked last in the NL Central. They are 11.0 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers, who lead the division, and 5.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the third NL Wild Card slot. The Cubs are expected to be sellers leading up to the deadline.
Let’s take a look at the planned Phillies-Cubs trade to get Bellinger and why Philadelphia should avoid trading for the former NL MVP.
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A Phillies-Cubs trade to land a former MVP should not happen.
The Phillies suggest moving their No. 8 prospect, catcher Eduardo Tait, to the Cubs in exchange for the two-time Silver Slugger Award-winning outfielder/first baseman. While Philadelphia would benefit from a short-term outfield upgrade, the transaction does not make long-term sense for either side.
Bellinger’s current contract contains a player opt-out in the winter, which allows him to pursue a larger contract with the Cubs or another team. If the Phillies sign him, he can leave after the 2024 season. He has continued to improve from his problems with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2020 to 2022, with a.270/.330/.417 slash line and a.747 OPS in 76 games heading into Sunday’s action.
Eduardo Tait might be the Phillies’ catcher of the future.
Given the Phillies’ current core under contract until 2025, there’s a good chance they won’t re-sign Bellinger and will have lost a young, promising prospect in Tait, who might end up becoming their future catcher in four to five years.
Tait thrived with the Dominican Summer League Phillies in 2023. This year, the 17-year-old is competing in the Florida Complex League with the FCL Phillies, and he is continuing to amaze. In 40 games, the Panama City native has hit.301/.368/.493, with five home runs, 11 doubles, and three steals.
According to Rymer, Tait aspires to be a bat-first catcher with a strong arm. Philadelphia has two additional catchers in its Top 30 prospect rankings: No. 20 Caleb Ricketts and No. 21 Kehden Hettiger, but Tait is ranked higher and may be better than both of them.
Preston Mattingly, the Phillies’ assistant general manager of player development, spoke about Tait before the Spring Breakout exhibition game in March.
“He’s somebody I think every Phillies fan should know about,” Mattingly told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “Start with his work ethic. He’s a highly intelligent child. I call him a kid because he still is. He has a possibility to form a hit-power combination. And, of course, finding offence at the catcher position is quite difficult. So we prefer a player like that because he works hard, is smart, and has the ability to smash and hit with power.”
The Cubs also have their own catcher-in-waiting, No. 5 prospect Moises Ballesteros, who is expected to make his major league debut in 2026. He has already been promoted from Double-A to Triple-A this season.
The Phillies don’t need to add another outfielder if it means giving up one of their top prospects. The major league squad is already talented, and they should explore adding an outfielder who will not deplete the farm system.
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