The Philadelphia Phillies have lost five consecutive games and are 1-9 in their last 10 games. Fortunately, they still have control of the third National League Wild Card spot.
They also are still within striking distance in the NL East behind the New York Mets. But they have some holes they need to fill in their bullpen.
Earlier this year, they lost left-hander Jose Alvarado to an 80-game PED suspension. He is ineligible to pitch in the postseason.
Relievers are always in high demand. Paul Casella of MLB.com noted that top pitching prospect Mick Abel could be used in order to bring back bullpen help.
“Not too long ago, he seemed expendable with the Phillies’ greatest strength being their rotation depth, but that’s been tested recently with the injury to Aaron Nola and the sudden struggles of Jesús Luzardo. That may give the Phillies pause when it comes to offering up Abel, but they’ll have to listen to any offers that may help their needs in the bullpen or the outfield,” Casella wrote.
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Abel made his Major League debut back in May with the Phillies. In that start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the young right-hander went six scoreless innings.
He is 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA in two starts this season with Philadelphia and could certainly be used to get the Phillies the help they need in certain areas.
The bullpen took a hit with Alvarado’s suspension and the outfield also is questionable, so if the Phillies want to push the chips for a run to the World Series, now might be the time to at least consider trading Abel and adding a piece that could get them there.
It will be interesting to see what they decide to do, but they obviously have holes to fill, and Abel could bring back pieces that could fill those holes.
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