Justin Crawford is one of the top prospects in the Phillies' system. (Cheryl Pursell)
Walker Buehler was once one of baseball's elite arms. He hasn't been that since his second Tommy John surgery, and entered Monday's matchup with the Phillies carrying an unsightly 6.12 ERA over 16 starts.
But Buehler managed to scatter six hits and two earned runs over seven innings Monday for his sixth quality start of the year.
The Phillies wound up winning the game 3-2 in extras on a walk-off catcher's interference with Edmundo Sosa at the plate, but it wasn't an impressive offensive showing. It's just apparent that this offense — particularly after losing Alec Bohm for an extended period with a left rib fracture — doesn't have enough horses. Bryce Harper is on fire, Trea Turner has had a strong season and Kyle Schwarber has felt like an NL MVP candidate at times. But there's an over-reliance on those three.
Monday afternoon, Phillies' president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was asked to assess what's been a hot and cold offense 10 days before the July 31 trade deadline.
"That's the way to describe it — it's been hot and cold," Dombrowski said to the assembled media, a group that included Adam Aaronson of Philly Voice. "Some of that fix has to come internally. It just has to. You're not going to go out and make a bunch of major trades. You can look to supplement. But some of our guys internally, we hope will be better.
"I do think having Bryce back in the middle of our lineup makes a big difference too," Dombrowski added. "But it's been inconsistent, and we need to get more consistent from an offensive perspective."
There is a reality that even after signing David Robertson, the Phillies' bullpen remains badly in need of a stopper. Whether it's Emmanuel Clase, Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax or someone else, the Phillies need someone that they can close the bullpen door behind in the ninth inning.
Getting that type of reliever — particularly if they aren't a rental, like Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals would be — would require parting with serious prospect capital. Like maybe No. 2 prospect Aidan Miller would be the headliner in a multi-player return.
If the Phillies do pull off a trade like that, it will be their big move. Managing partner John Middleton talked about the balance between wanting to win now with hoping to develop players from within last week, and it's clear he's still scarred by the 10-year postseason absence the Phillies had after the 2007-2011 golden era. He doesn't want the farm system to be gutted, and Dombrowski has largely held onto the organization's top draft picks since taking over the Phillies' front office.
👂🎧 John Middleton gave @TimKellySports a very candid answer when discussing balancing wanting to keep prospects with trying to maximize this World Series window. pic.twitter.com/x6BzKojui7
At the same time, if you go all in for a closer, it's because you believe you can win a World Series in 2025. It would be a shame to do that and then have an offense that clearly seems a bat or two short right now prevent you from making a deep October run.
But it isn't a good market to need to add a big bat in. Steven Kwan or Jarren Duran would be nice, though both are left-handed and seem less than likely to be dealt. Luis Robert Jr. and Adolis García might benefit from a change of scenery, but each has underwhelmed offensively since the start of the 2024 season. It's unclear if the Angels, hovering around .500, are going to end up parting with Taylor Ward or Jo Adell, neither of whom is in a walk year. Eugenio Suárez is in a contract year, but he's clubbed 36 home runs and virtually every contending team is going to be in on him. It's unclear if the Phillies, who do expect to get Bohm back, would be as all-in on a third baseman like Suárez as the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees, among others.
It should be noted, though, that while this era of the Phillies have typically been a little too reliant on home runs for their own good, the 2025 iteration of the club is just 16th in the majors in home runs. For much of this season, it's felt like the Phillies have lacked someone in the four or five-hole capable of coming up with a couple runners on base and hitting a three-run bomb. We'll see if that changes in the coming days.
As far as the current MLB roster, it's not clear who is going to be drastically better offensively than they've been to this point. Bohm is out. J.T. Realmuto has heated up after a slow offensive start, but as a 34-year-old catcher, he's not going to provide the same middle-of-the-order offensive presence on a consistent basis that he once did. Nick Castellanos has a .744 OPS in parts of four seasons with the Phillies, a far cry from the type of offensive output that got him a five-year/$100 million deal before the 2022 season. Bryson Stott and Max Kepler have been unplayable offensively for much of 2025.
The one option from Triple-A that could help the Phillies after the trade deadline — assuming he's not dealt himself — is Justin Crawford.
"Well, there's consideration at times," Dombrowski admitted when asked about if there's been a thought of promoting Crawford. "We just haven't had the right time to do it yet, but he's a person that's always in our minds."
Crawford has a sky-high 61.8% ground ball percentage, but has raked at every level of the minors. The 21-year-old has hit .325 with an .830 OPS at Triple-A this season. If the Phillies brought Crawford up in August, they could shift Brandon Marsh to left field — his better defensive position — and likely move on from Max Kepler in some form. Dombrowski said that if the Phillies decide to bring Crawford up, he would need to play every day. Dombrowski did not rule out keeping Crawford at Triple-A to continue his seasoning.
Expectations with Crawford would have to be realistic, though. He could help you with outfield defense and his speed on the basepaths. But he would probably hit eighth or ninth. He's got only three home runs this year, so even if he was promoted, the Phillies would still be short another big bat in the middle of their order.
There's a place for Marsh against right-handed pitchers, and ideally, in left field. But the center field/left field combination of Marsh and Kepler (with Johan Rojas occasionally sprinkled in) doesn't seem to be something the Phillies can take into August, let alone October.
"Well, they have to just continue to ... they have to swing the bat better in some cases. That's it," Dombrowski said. "They both, they can play defensively, I'm not worried about that part. But they just gotta swing the bat better."
In the case of Kepler, the die may already be cast. It's just a matter of how the Phillies upgrade their outfield. Will it be Crawford coming up, or a veteran outfielder like Robert, García or Harrison Bader? We'll know in the near future.
Having this discussion, though, doesn't leave you with a great feeling about the Phillies. Whether it's as NL East Champions or a Wild Card representative, the Phillies are probably going to be in the postseason. But are there too many holes to fix for them to have a parade at the end of October? That's a fair question.
