With just under a week remaining until the baseball trade deadline passes, the Phillies are mired in last place in the NL East, have the worst record in all of baseball, and will no doubt be looking to welcome some new prospects into the organization with a few deadline moves.
The best player for the Phillies to move is reliever Pat Neshek, the sidearm journeyman who made the All-Star game this season after plowing through rosters as the Phils’ set up man.
Neshek has a 1.12 ERA in just over 40 innings pitched and hasn’t allowed a run since July 1. For teams making a push toward the postseason, a veteran and reliable bullpen arm is an extremely valuable piece. Last season as the Indians pieced together a team talented enough to make a run at a World Series, they traded for Andrew Miller mid-season.
As many baseball fans know, Miller turned out to be one of the most important players on Cleveland’s roster, nearly helping to lift them over the Cubs — who eventually prevailed in an epic seven-game series.
According to sources, Neshek has been scouted hard over recent weeks by several contenders.
MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand is keeping track:
Market for Pat Neshek getting competitive. Nationals, Dodgers and Red Sox among teams scouting him closely, per source.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 24, 2017
With so many teams with deep farm systems looking to add Neshek, the Phillies and GM Matt Klentak will do whatever they can to leverage the mass of interest into maximum value for the Phillies.
