On the strength of a streak that saw them win nine of 11 games — combined with eight losses in nine for the New York Mets — the Philadelphia Phillies surged back into first place in the National League East last week, for the first time since May 31.
If they want to stay there, the Phils need to upgrade one particular position that has dragged down their offense this year: left field. Phillies left fielders rank in the bottom half of MLB, 19th, with a combined .697 OPS.
That’s largely the responsibility of 32-year-old, 11-year veteran Max Kepler, who has played 64 of Philadelphia’s 78 games in left and compiled a .691 OPS with nine home runs and an anemic .211 batting average.
In a new trade proposal published on social media by MLB analyst G. Geiss on Monday, the Phillies would find their solution, or at least an upgrade for left field, in last year’s All-Star Game MVP Jarren Duran of the Boston Red Sox.
The deal would be financial feasible for the Phillies, despite them already boasting the fourth-highest payroll in MLB.
Duran makes just $3.75 million this season with a club option set at $8 million for next year, for a total of $11.75 million. But Duran’s team can buy out the option for $100,000.
After that, his club still has him under control through the 2029 season, when the 2018 seventh-round draft pick will be 32 years old.
With the promotion of No. 1 MLB prospect Roman Anthony, the Red Sox now have a backlog of outfielders.
Given his age, and his noticeable decline in performance from his breakout 2024 (.714 OPS so far compared to .834), Duran looks like the odd man out.
More MLB: Red Sox Trade Idea Adds $10.9 Million Slugger After Rafael Devers Injury Reveal
But Duran also brings speed, with 73 stolen bases and 24 triples going back to the start of 2023. Kepler, by contrast, is no base stealer. He has not swiped bag this season, and just one in each of the last two seasons. Nor has he legged out a triple yet this season.
The Red Sox may not need Duran, but they do need catchers. Their entire system is thin on backstops, with only Single-A, 20-year old Johanfran Garcia — a 2022 international signing out of Venezuela — ranking anywhere in their top 30 prospects (No. 27).
The Phillies can offer their own No. 4 overall prospect, Eduardo Tait, an 18-year-old from Panama, whom Geiss describes as an “absolute demon.”
Despite his youth and MLB Pipeline’s projection that he will not be MLB-ready until 2028, Tait is ranked by Pipeline as the No. 9 catcher and 71st overall prospect in the game.
Geiss’s trade proposal also returns two more prospects: Aaron Escobar, a 20-year-old Venezuelan described as” a pure hitter and an absolute stud … one of the most underrated players in minor league baseball,” by Geiss — and who stands as Pipeline’s No. 13 Phillies prospect; and righty minor league reliever Wen-Hui Pan, a 22-year-old from Chinese Taipei listed as Philadelphia’s ninth-ranked mound prospect.
Duran has become a fan-favorite in Boston with his explosive playing style as well as a personal openness that has endeared him to Red Sox Nation. Cutting ties with the 28-year-old would likely not be a popular move.
But the Red Sox need not only regular at-bats for Anthony — the most hotly anticipated Red Sox hitting prospect in 50 years, since Fred Lynn and Jim Rice emerged in 1975 — but a settled position.
Left field, now occupied by Duran, is the 21-year-old Anthony’s natural spot on the field.
More MLB: Padres Reportedly Targeting Red Sox $3.75 Million All-Star, But Should Boston Make Trade?
Read the full article here
