The Philadelphia Phillies added Harrison Bader and Jhoan Duran at the trade deadline to address two major areas of need.
With just about a month passing since the deadline, R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports believes the Phillies’ additions are some of the most encouraging going into the final month of the regular season.
“Bader has hit .288/.386/.441 and provided his usual brand of good defensive work in center field,” Anderson wrote on Thursday. “Don’t overlook the cascading effect that his presence has had, either, since it’s allowed manager Rob Thomson to slide Brandon Marsh to left field and limit the club’s overexposure with Weston Wilson and Max Kepler. As for Duran, he’s allowed two earned runs and zero walks while striking out nine batters over the course of his first 10 appearances.”
Having a strong bat in the outfield certainly gives Thomson more flexibility as Bader is a big upgrade over Marsh and Kepler. Even with adding David Robertson as a free agent during the trade deadline window, contenders can never have too many strong relievers. the Phillies wanted to add some insurance with Jordan Romano’s struggles along with Jose Alvarado being suspended for the playoffs.
“The Phillies had an obvious need for outfield and bullpen help all year long,” wrote Anderson. “They didn’t make a ton of additions at the deadline, but they’ve made up for the lack of quantity with quality.”
Philadelphia holds the lead in the National League East currently, but the New York Mets are still within striking distance as the final month of regular season baseball is upon us.
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