The Phillies are currently stuck in a late-July losing skid that has seen the club drop seven of its last 10 games, including yesterday’s crushing loss to the Miami Marlins, a team that was on a franchise-long 12-game winless streak of its own before the series.
Philadelphia is now tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second wild card spot in the National League playoff picture. As for their N.L. East title hopes, the Phillies have slipped to 6 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves with six games remaining against the division's top team.
Bryce Harper thinks the Phillies “need some help”, so if President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski intends on adding to his lineup, here are three options he should consider before the trade deadline on August 3.
The N.L. batting average leader will “almost certainly” be moved before next Monday closes, according to Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper. He has played solid defense at second base this season, but with Gold Glove-worthy play from Bryson Stott already, there doesn’t appear to be a clear opening for him. Arraez has been used as a utility player with games played at second (400+ games), first (225+), third (65+) and left field (40+).
Arraez, 29, does all things the Phillies offense needs, particularly from someone at the top of the lineup. He is currently batting .331 for a Giants team that faded from the playoff picture last month. He has more walks (25) this season than strikeouts (20), a 4.5% strikeout rate that would be far and away the lowest on the team in Philly. Arraez has not showcased much power in his career, but he gets on base consistently, ranking No. 17 in active career on-base percentage (.364).
The biggest downside is being another left-handed hitter in a southpaw-heavy lineup, but he features a solid .281 career batting average against lefties while his .332 career mark against right-handed hurlers remains among the best in baseball. His 3.4 Wins Against Replacement (bWAR) ranks among the top 40 players in the sport this season.
Arraez likely represents a pure rental as an unrestricted free agent this offseason after betting on himself on a one-year, $12 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.
Once the highest-prized prospect in the major leagues, the Rutschman shine has worn off a bit over his five-year MLB career. After a blistering start with a 5.4 bWAR in 2022, his production has slowly declined like walking down a staircase: 4.3 in 2023, 3.1 in 2024, 1.9 in 2025 and 1.7 so far this season.
Rutschman, 28, was on track to be the starting catcher for the O’s over the next decade, but Baltimore could be listening on their switch-hitting catcher. He was listed No. 15 on ESPN’s Top 2026 MLB trade deadline candidates list. The Orioles have a 21-year-old catcher (Samuel Basallo) who has shown the ability to backstop a pitching staff should General Manager Mike Elias choose to move his starting catcher in another Maryland retool.
Rutschman would give the Phillies a dynamic one-two punch behind the plate when combined with J.T. Realmuto. He owns a career .254 batting average in 572 career games with similar performances against lefties (.273) and righties (.246), per Fangraphs. His 15.8% career strikeout percentage is significantly lower than the MLB average of 22.4%, per Baseball Reference. It would represent one of the best rates on the current Phillies roster.
Rutschman has one more season of club control in 2027 before reaching free agency in 2028.
Suárez, 35, would be the ultimate “buy low” candidate if Domrowski wants to add a right-handed power bat to the roster. The 35-year-old has had a forgettable season in Cincinnati, recording a -0.8 bWAR and a .204 batting average. He ranks No. 12 in the N.L. with 113 strikeouts this season, which would give the Phillies four players inside the top 20.
Still, Suárez features power that could play well at Citizens Bank Park with 339 home runs and 988 RBIs over his 13-year career. Suárez would likely serve as a bench bat for interim manager Don Mattingly, similar to the role Matt Stairs played to perfection during the Phillies' march to the 2008 World Series crown.
Suárez has a mutual option in his contract for next season at $16 million, so there could be some additional value if the Phillies want to ensure they have a right-handed power hitter on the squad in 2027.
There are arguments to be made that the 2026 Phillies roster has bigger needs in the starting rotation and/or the bullpen to save a campaign that seems to be circling the proverbial drain.
Arraez represents the best potential trade option on the market for what the Phillies need, which is someone to consistently reach base ahead of Kyle Schwarber and Harper.
Rutschman could fulfill an organizational need on the catching depth chart, which has remained a major question mark for years. Meanwhile, Suárez could give a decade-plus-long veteran another shot or two at potential postseason glory this fall.
Regardless of any potential trade deadline deals, it will still fall on a veteran-heavy Phillies roster, including Harper, to band together and stop this post-All-Star Game slide in Baltimore this weekend.
MORE: Should the Phillies trade for Zach Neto?
