The Philadelphia Phillies currently sit with a 39-29 record and are five games behind the New York Mets for first place in the National League East.
Philadelphia has been one of the best teams in Major League Baseball over the last three years, but it doesn’t have a World Series title to show for it.
In 2022, the Phillies advanced to the World Series but lost to the Houston Astros in six games and haven’t returned since.
If the Phillies are going to want to return to the Fall Classic, they will need to add help to their bullpen. Maddy Hudak from Philadelphia Phillies On SI thinks the team should trade for Washington Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan.
“The Nationals are all but assured to be sellers at the trade deadline as they fall out of contention with a 30-35 record and sit seven games back from the National League wild card race. They’ll likely look to shop Finnegan, who was named in a recent MLB.com article as their biggest trade chip,” Hudak wrote. He was included in a second article that listed trade candidates whose stock has soared. Finnegan is a perfect fit for what Philadelphia needs in a closer. While the Tigers have also been linked to Finnegan, the Phillies must monitor that situation. Philadelphia needs an impact player with experience in high-leverage situations. Their bullpen has the eighth most blown saves in baseball (18) and ranks No. 23 in the MLB in holds (33). Finnegan posted a 2.38 ERA and 1.279 WHIP with 20 strikeouts to eight walks in 22.2 innings pitched.”
Finnegan is in the last year of his six-million-dollar contract and could be a cheap option for the Phillies.
The bullpen is one of the most critical components of postseason success, and if the Phillies don’t figure out a way to improve their late-inning pitching, they will likely be heading home early in October.
