The Philadelphia Phillies are the sleeping giants of the Major League Baseball offseason.
Coming off the playoff disappointment of the 2024 season, a big move has to be coming for the Phillies. We’ve seen it too many times from president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski not to expect that the Phillies will do something substantial before Opening Day.
The outfield has become the biggest problem area for the Phillies; the only part of the roster without an All-Star in 2024. There’s still one big-name outfield trade candidate lurking on the market this winter: Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox.
Robert, 27, is an intriguing name due to both the up-and-down nature of his career so far and the creative structure of his contract. The $50 million extension he signed with the White Sox is up after this season but contains club options for 2026 and 2027 at $20 million apiece.
On Monday, Zach Pressnell of Newsweek proposed a trade that would send Robert to the Phillies in exchange for outfielder Justin Crawford, shortstop Bryan Rincon, and outfielder Emaarion Boyd.
“The Phillies finally land the young outfielder to slot in their outfield,” Pressnell said. “They also hold onto third baseman Alec Bohm in this deal, which leaves him free to keep for 2025 or trade in a blockbuster deal for a starting pitcher.”
“Robert still has three years of team control on his deal with the 2026 and 2027 seasons being $20 million club options. He’s coming off a down year in 2024, but he slugged 38 home runs and 36 doubles in 2023.”
Crawford is the Phillies’ number-three prospect, according to MLB.com. Rincon is the 10th-ranked prospect on the same list, while Boyd clocks in at No. 23.
If the Phillies can get the best version of Robert, they’ll be locked and loaded for a championship run. But he was bad enough in 2024 that the move feels like a significant risk, albeit with tremendous upside.
More MLB: Phillies predicted to trade Alec Bohm, replace him with $36 million Gold Glover
