Phillies' perfect trade offer for Rays' star reliever
The post Phillies' perfect trade offer for Rays' star reliever appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The Philadelphia Phillies are loaded with talent. Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler form one of the best one-two punches in baseball as starting pitchers, although the former has struggled this year and is currently on the injured list. Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber are all star position players, too. The team hasn't been able to win the World Series with this core, though, which is why Jeff Passan suggests trading for Pete Fairbanks of the Tampa Bay Rays to bolster the bullpen. So, what would a potential Fairbanks-to-Philadelphia trade look like?
Phillies' trade proposal for Pete Fairbanks
Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Phillies receive: Pete Fairbanks
Advertisement
Rays receive: Justin Crawford (MLB No. 56), Devin Saltiban (Phillies No. 9)
The Phillies are 37-23, just a half-game back of the New York Mets in the National League East. Their success this year is of no thanks to the relievers, though. The Phillies have one of the worst bullpens in baseball. Of their six relievers with 20-plus innings pitched, Jose Alvarado is the only one with a sub 3.0 ERA.
However, Alvarado was handed an 80-game suspension and won't be eligible for the postseason because of PED usage. Jordan Romano has moved into the closer role that Alvarado previously occupied, and although he has improved as of recent, the team still needs an upgrade.
Fairbanks is one of the best closers in baseball. The closer has a 1.96 ERA this season, and the Rays could once again operate as sellers. The Phillies likely wouldn't stop with just Fairbanks. They need even more help when it comes to relievers. Fairbanks would be one of their most coveted options, though, because he can thrive in high-leverage situations. That will be much-needed in the crowded National League the rest of the season.
Advertisement
The Phillies bullpen likely won't be able to match their offensive production as a team, regardless of who they bring in. If they take a few steps in the right direction when it comes to late-inning pitchers, though, this could finally be the year that they win the World Series.
Would the Rays trade Pete Fairbanks?
The Rays are 31-29. Above .500 teams rarely make trades this early in the season. Tampa Bay doesn't operate like most teams, though. They regularly go back and forth between buying and selling, often because they don't usually hand out big contracts to their players.
Right now, they seem more likely to sell. The American League East is arguably the best division in baseball. The Rays won't catch the New York Yankees, and all of the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and revitalized Baltimore Orioles can give them problems going forward.
Advertisement
The Rays thrive at evaluating young players and developing them into solid major leaguers. Suppose there are players in Philadelphia's farm system who the Rays like, then they'd probably be willing to give up Fairbanks. Andrew Painter is likely off the table, as he is one of the best prospects in baseball, but Justin Crawford is still a top-100 prospect in his own right.
The 2022 first-rounder is already in AAA, and he could break through to the majors soon. Fairbanks, meanwhile, only has one more year of team control before he heads to the open market. Rays fans often show disappointment in the personnel decisions that their team makes when it comes to trades, but it wouldn't surprise anybody if they traded Fairbanks.
Related: Bryce Harper makes injury confession after HR in return
Related: Trea Turner doubles down with second HR vs. Blue Jays
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
33 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Patrick Corbin finally got a fresh start. He's taking advantage of it.
In the last five years of his six-year contract with the Washington Nationals, Patrick Corbin never ended a season with an ERA better than 4.66. Three times in those five years, he led the National League in losses. His longest streak of starts allowing three runs or fewer was seven, and he did that once. Other than that, he never compiled a streak longer than four.
USA Today
44 minutes ago
- USA Today
Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong 'lit the world on fire' as Chicago tops NL standings
Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong 'lit the world on fire' as Chicago tops NL standings Show Caption Hide Caption Watch baseball player's emotional reaction to surprise MLB promotion During a minor league baseball game in Tacoma, Washington, Cole Young was pulled aside and informed he'd been called up to play in the big leagues. WASHINGTON – This is a Chicago Cubs team like no other. There's no curse to bust, and besides, it's been nearly a decade since the star-studded 2016 edition captured the franchise's first World Series since 1908. Nor are there glaring holes ranging from laughable to mystifying, as so many Cub clubs before '16 embodied the former, and the oft penny-pinching editions since featured the latter. No, the team with the best record in the National League is, by both design and happenstance, solid and spectacular. Solid, as in it does many of the obscure yet crucial things so well, such as catching the ball, running the bases, making contact and limiting damage. As for the spectacular? That's what Pete Crow-Armstrong provides. The most valuable player in the National League, by whichever flavor of WAR you prefer, has won games – stolen them, at times – with every one of baseball's five tools, sometimes in stunning succession. The Cubs left Washington late Thursday night for Detroit, with a series win in hand and a PCA play of the day for every Cubbie diehard that came out to Nationals Park. One night, it was not his speed but rather the threat of it that froze a Washington defender and resulted in a game-changing misplay as he danced off third. The next, it was a gap-to-gap sprint and crash into the left field wall to haul in a fly ball and keep intact a perfect game by lefty starter Matthew Boyd. And Thursday, it was simply turning on a hanging curveball and drilling it 412 feet over the center field wall for a first-inning, two-run home run that sent the Cubs victoriously on their way out of town. With his ability to apply a dash of slug or a drop of speed right when the Cubs need it, Crow-Armstrong is as much an artist on the field as his parents – both successful actors – are in their work. And in the context of his ballclub, Crow-Armstrong is part of a breathtaking mosaic the Cubs, now 39-23, have commissioned. 'It's funny because you hear it all the time: 'This team plays the game the right way.' So many times, people have a hard time being able to define what that means,' Dansby Swanson, now in his third year as the Cubs' shortstop, tells USA TODAY Sports. 'I feel like we just have a lot of good baseball players. 'And when you put a lot of good baseball players on a team together that have a hunger and drive to do things for more than themselves, it leads to good team baseball. Everyone's accountable for themselves. Guys are accountable with one another. We have good relationships with each other. We hang out toger, do things together, really cherish being in this room together. 'All those things, put into one, turn out to truly lead to good results on the field.' It's a club that is by turns sexy and workmanlike. Acquiring slugger Kyle Tucker – who can become a free agent after this season – in a blockbuster deal with the Houston Astros gave the Cubs one of the top five all-around players in the game, and his slugging ability has both lengthened the lineup and relieved the burden on those hitting around him. As the season creeps toward the halfway point, Crow-Armstrong's 16 homers and 21 steals put him on track for a 40-40 season. And any feat of athleticism – from a guy whose speed ranks in the 97th percentile of the majors - can inspire Cubs faithful to send a 'P-C-A!' chant echoing through Wrigleyville. Yet almost every other facet is simply part of a well-rounded hardball diet. They rank third in the majors in stolen bases and second with an 84.4% success rate; they're also third in the NL in bases taken – or, advancing on grounders, fly balls and balls in the dirt. Crow-Armstrong and second baseman Nico Hoerner rank first and second, respectively, at their positions in Outs Above Average; left fielder Ian Happ, Swanson, Tucker and Hoerner boast seven career Gold Gloves among them. And in what can only be described as sleight of hand in this modern hitting environment, the Cubs rank fourth in the majors with a .443 slugging percentage – yet just 22nd in strikeouts, getting to significant punch without the punchouts. It's a gently suffocating style of baseball, where an extra ball in play creates an extra out, an extra base taken produces another run, and then somebody runs into one and sends it over the ivy. 'We do all the major things well,' says Justin Turner, the Cubs' 40-year-old designated hitter and veteran of nine playoff teams in Los Angeles, 'but the little intangibles are, I think, even more off the charts. It's elite defense, especially up the middle. It's one of the best baserunning teams I've been on, as far as stealing bases, taking extra bases, putting pressure on the defense. 'And I feel like the offense is one of the more dynamic ones I've been a part of – whether that's hitting homers, playing small ball, situational hitting, stealing bases. It doesn't mean it's gonna happen every night. But it's a very well-rounded club.' Yet win or lose, the Cubs can count on something spectacular happening from No. 4. 'He's gonna be the next big thing' Crow-Armstrong cuts a unique figure among the finely-tuned behemoths populating a big league clubhouse. Listed at 6 feet and 184 pounds, his frame doesn't suggest a 40-homer guy will soon emerge. Clad in a ski cap, sweatpants and a shin protector even as the pregame temperature nudges north of 80 degrees, he looks more the SoCal native headed to the skate park rather than the indoor batting cage. Yet something happens when he hits the diamond. 'Everybody kind of knew, 'Oh, it's Pete, he's gonna be the next big thing.' And now you see it coming to fruition,' says Cubs rookie left-hander Cade Horton, who frequently crossed paths with Crow-Armstrong on the youth showcase circuit in high school. 'He's just the ultimate competitor and has all the tools. 'It was a combination of the athletic ability and his fiery competitiveness. When you put those two things together, it's a recipe for something good. Just watching him compete was really, really special.' Success did not come overnight. The New York Mets drafted him 19th overall in 2020, then flipped him for Javy Baez. At 21, he made a 13-game debut in 2023, then produced just a .237 average and .286 OBP in 123 games last season. But defense will always keep you up. Crow-Armstrong produced 2.3 WAR last season despite his offensive struggles. And then, sometimes it all comes together. 'I think we unfairly put things on players at a young age nowadays, whether it's just hype, the affinity for prospects and what's next and what's new, and it heightens expectations at a young age,' says Swanson. 'The coolest thing is, usually in that third taste, that third year, you expect guys to really kind of come into their own and he's obviously done that. I'm not surprised by anything he does. 'He's a phenomenally gifted talent, he's super competitive, he's very passionate, very, in a good way, hard on himself about wanting to be great at this game. Asks the right questions. 'I say this with a smirk on my face: Everything he does I expect him to do. I always believed in his ability and I'll never let him settle for anything less than that. He's lit the world on fire.' And Pete feats can emerge when you least expect them. Tuesday night, the Cubs fell in a 3-1 hole by the fourth inning when Crow-Armstrong led off with a hustle double to right field and promptly stole third base. The next ball was chopped to third and Armstrong danced off about 20 feet, prompting third baseman Jose Tena to look him back to third. Yet Armstrong didn't budge. Tena ran toward him. Everybody's safe. A single and a sacrifice fly later, the game was tied and an inning later, firmly in hand for the Cubs. 'His speed is something everybody on the field knows about it. You have to respect it. And speed causes mistakes,' says manager Craig Counsell. For Armstrong, the exploits come with a firmer base, literally and figuratively. He credits his power surge to using the ground better, as he says, to exploit his lower half. And he entered spring convicted, secure in his job, and that's made all the difference. 'I just came in with a lot more comfort and confidence in myself, really, but I think the coolest part about that is what's been asked of me hasn't really changed,' says Crow-Armstrong. 'No one's asked me to hit the homers and do all this stuff. But the freedom I've been granted, the space to go play every day, I think that's why we're seeing that. 'My goal, and my job and what is asked of me is still just to go play a good center field.' 'How could you not want that?' And yet the Cubs have received so much more. But their current heater – they're now a majors-best 17-6 since May 10 – is so much about everybody doing their part. With All-Star lefty Shota Imanaga sidelined by a hamstring injury at least a couple more weeks, the club has relied on Horton's emergence, Jameson Taillon's veteran steadiness and the signing of Drew Pomeranz to largely serve as an opener to shore up the rotation. The bullpen has posted a 0.74 ERA over its past 19 games. And the holdovers, Happ and Hoerner, now have a powerful core to illuminate their contributions, such as Hoerner's absurd 18 strikeouts in 247 plate appearances, a 7.3% strikeout percentage that ranks in the 99th percentile. The lineup all coalesces around Tucker, who has lived up to the billing with a .917 OPS. As for 2026, not much needs to be said in the clubhouse about whether the lads want to see Tucker's name on a nine-figure contract with the Cubs. 'I think it kind of speaks for itself, right? We all know what he brings to this team,' says Swanson, who calls Tucker 'an aircraft carrier of a guy in the lineup. 'He's so good. How could you not want that?' That's a problem for, most likely, the winter. For now, the Cubs are off to Detroit and a date with the American League-best Tigers and a possible preview of, well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Bigger things could be ahead, especially for a club so skilled in taking care of the littler ones. 'The culmination of all those things has consistently led to where we're at now,' says Swanson, 'and it's been fun to be a part of.'
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Eight years later it's clear he made the wrong call on Benintendi vs. Judge, and other thoughts
Advertisement Which guy would you rather have on your team for the next 15 seasons?' Judge or Benintendi? Nine inches taller, and 100 pounds heavier than Boston's hot shot, Judge (6 feet 7 inches, 285 pounds), already had 32 homers at the time I posed the question and was clearly the AL's top rookie. But I liked our guy just a little better. Judge had a big hole in his swing and I saw Benintendi as a young Yaz, a pure talent who'd get better every year. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up And so . . . after many paragraphs on Big Poison vs. Little Poison — noting that Judge hit .155 (9 for 58) with one homer and two RBIs in his first 15 games against the Sox, while Benintendi had four homers and 12 RBIs against the Yankees — I concluded, 'I'm taking Benintendi,' and it splashed down in the Globe under the headline, 'The vote here is Benintendi.' Advertisement In an August 2017 column, Dan Shaughnessy asked himself who he'd rather have on the Red Sox for the next 15 years, Aaron Judge or Andrew Benintendi. Safe to say he missed the mark. Boston Globe Wow. In a half-century of opinions that sometimes didn't age well, this is one of the worst. It's right there with 'The Sox should sign Pablo Sandoval,' 'No way Nick Foles and Doug Peterson can beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick,' and 'The Celtics are going to repeat in 2025.' Put it this way: My Benintendi-over-Judge pick in 2017 would be like some dope in 1997 inheriting a bag of cash and thinking, 'Never mind this fledgling Apple stock, I think I'll sink all my dough into a chain of Blockbuster video stores.' Benintendi, who turns 31 next month, played five seasons for Boston and made a critical catch when the powerhouse Red Sox beat the Astros in the 2018 ALCS and went on to win the World Series. In February 2021, the Sox traded him to Kansas City for Franchy Cordero (think I predicted Franchy would become Willie McCovey) and he was an All-Star with the Royals a year later. In 2023, Benintendi signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the White Sox, and he was with them when they lost 121 games last year. In his ninth big league season, Benintendi is a career .269 hitter, averaging 16 homers and 78 RBIs per 162 games. He's injury-prone but an above-average player when healthy. In 2023, Andrew Benintendi signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the White Sox. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press The 33-year-old Judge, meanwhile, is drawing comparisons with Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth. At this hour, he's on pace for the best non-steroid individual slugging season since Ruth more than 100 years ago. Judge leads the American League in batting, OBP, slugging, OPS, runs, and hits. He's a six-time All-Star, a two-time MVP, and hit 62 home runs in 2022. Last year, he batted .322 with 58 homers and 144 RBIs. This year, he's been even better. Four hundred total bases is not out of the question. Advertisement He's also team captain, a fully accountable, legitimate leader. He dropped a ball in center field that triggered a Yankee collapse in Game 5 of last year's World Series at Yankee Stadium, but he has no trouble talking about the misplay and pledges to do better in 2025. The Red Sox will see plenty of Judge this weekend in Yankee Stadium. He's got a good shot at returning to the World Series in October and will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when his career is over. He's one of the all-time greats. And yes. Upon further review, this dope concedes that Judge is even better than Andrew Benintendi. ⋅ Quiz: 1: Name four Celtics who are in the top 20 on the NBA career playoff assists list; 2. Name three Bruins who played more than 1,000 games with the Black and Gold, but played for no other NHL team (answers below). ⋅ ⋅ Inadvertent Metaphor Department: Jason Aldean's 'Full Throttle Tour' appearance at Fenway Park last weekend was canceled because of structural problems with the stage (sometimes this stuff writes itself, no?). ⋅ Red Sox broadcasters need to stop insulting our intelligence by pumping the tires of every non-horrible thing Sox players do. Trevor Story's 'breakout weekend' in Atlanta ended with him hitting .222. On Sunday, he struck out three more times after the Braves' starter made the mistake of throwing him a first-inning curveball ( Advertisement ⋅ Forgive me if I'm not amused when ace Garrett Crochet (he of 14 career wins) tells the whole world he's going to throw a fastball to start every game. In Crochet's first 13 starts with the Red Sox, leadoff batters went 6 for 13 against him. Two of the leadoff hitters homered on the first pitch and Boston lost both games by a run. How is this a good thing for the Red Sox? ⋅ In a related matter, have you ever seen a bad baseball team do more in-game celebrating than the 2025 Red Sox? ⋅ Had a wonderful conversation with former (1963-65) Red Sox outfielder Jim Gosger. Jim was back in the news two weeks ago when a homebred colt named 'Gosger' (the horse is named in his honor) Advertisement ⋅ Thibs, We Hardly Knew Ye: ⋅ Do the Knicks and their fans feel just a little bit silly for their embarrassing overreaction to beating the Celtics in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals? New York folks were renaming street signs after the early-round victory. Now they are watching the Finals, just like us. Jalen Brunson and the Knicks beat the Celtics in six games, but then lost to the Pacers in six. Michael Conroy/Associated Press ⋅ The Celtics and Pacers played six-game playoff series against the Knicks. Boston averaged 15 more 3-point attempts per game than Indiana in its six games vs. New York. The Pacers beat the Knicks in six. The Celtics lost in six. Wonder why? ⋅ The Pacers have never won the NBA Finals. Coach Larry Bird's team, led by Reggie Miller, lost to the Lakers in six in the 2000 Finals. The Pacers won ABA titles in 1970, '72, and '73, and joined the NBA in 1976. ⋅ The vaunted Worcester Telegram should be covering the NBA Finals. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle played a prep season at Worcester Academy before moving on to the Universities of Maine and Virginia. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault grew up in Leominster, was a student manager under Jim Calhoun at UConn, a mentee of former Holy Cross coach George Blaney, and a three-year assistant coach at HC. Daigneault's father, Rick, played baseball for the Crusaders and graduated in 1980. The Daigneault family has owned and run The Il Camino restaurant in Leominster since 1971. Advertisement ⋅ Deion Sanders, who's been dealing with health issues lately, returned to the public eye on Asante Samuel's May 30 podcast and acknowledged 'it did hurt' when ⋅ One of the best writers around, Mark Kriegel, has written 'Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson.' Buy it . . . If you like lacrosse, go for S.L. Price's 'The American Game.' ⋅ Know anyone named Brooks? It could be because of Hall of Fame Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson, who died in September 2023. In the late 1970s, after Reggie Jackson spent one year with the Orioles, then became famous as Mr. October with the Yankees, Jackson wanted a candy bar named after him and got his wish with the 'Reggie!' bar. Baltimore Associated Press sportswriter Gordon Beard said, 'In New York, they named a candy bar after Reggie Jackson. Here in Baltimore, we name our children after Brooks Robinson.' Orioles Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson was beloved in Baltimore. Associated Press True. ESPN's Tim Kurkjian, a Maryland native, still speaks of a long-ago trip to Disney World when his children were young: 'I was hundreds of miles from home and twice within an hour people introduced themselves to me, told me they were from Baltimore, and said they were named after Brooks Robinson!' In 1991, baseball's master choreographer, Dr. Charles Steinberg, then with the Orioles, presided over the closing weekend of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium (where the O's played before Camden Yards) and held a small promotion allowing fans named after Brooks Robinson to walk the warning track before a game. According to both Steinberg and Orioles PR boss Rick Vaughn, more than a couple dozen fans participated in the 'Parade of Brooks.' One of my grandsons has 'Brooks' for a middle name. His then-very-pregnant mom was in Cooperstown for Induction Weekend in 2016, and met the classy Hall of Famer. When her son was born a few weeks later, she and her husband decided that Brooks would be a fine middle name. He's 8 now. A Triple A Little Leaguer. Plays third base. ⋅ RIP Brookline-born Sol Yas, who died May 23 at the age of 84. A lifelong sports fan, longtime friend of the late Duke Snider, and onetime GM of the Cape League's Brewster White Caps, Sol was a member of the Dodgertown Hall of Fame and the Cape League's Hall of Fame. ⋅ Quiz answers: 1: Rajon Rondo, Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson, Bob Cousy; 2. Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Wayne Cashman. Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
