Phillies need to call Cubs on perfect $61 million All-Star to fix outfield issue

phillies/news/phillies-cubs-perfect-61-million-all-star-fix-outfield-issue/f12743771404180b7032a6e0?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=appeared_on">Phillies need to call Cubs on perfect $61 million All-Star to fix outfield issue originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Philadelphia Phillies have long been searching for an outfielder who can come in and make an impact for them on both sides of the baseball. The Phillies are more worried about what they can do on the offensive side of the baseball, but there’s also reason to believe that they could be interested in adding a player who can do what’s needed on the defensive side of things as well. 

There aren’t many players who fit both molds, but one is Ian Happ, a four-time Gold Glove Award winner and an above-average offensive player for the Chicago Cubs.

It’s now believed that Happ will be available, and the Phillies need to be all over him. He’s won four Gold Gloves over the past five years, was an All-Star in 2022, and has consistently been a 120-plus OPS+ hitter.

“For as divisive as Ian Happ is among some Cubs fans, I don’t think the league undervalues him at all. This season, he’s not hitting for average, but he’s getting on base, slugging, and playing his usual solid + defense in left field. He’s also a switch-hitter and a veteran. If a team needed outfield help, they would not hesitate to go after Happ,” Michael Cerami wrote.

In terms of what the Phillies need, there aren’t many better players out there than Happ if he becomes available. 

It wouldn’t make any sense for the Cubs not to make him available, as they’ve struggled a bunch recently, and he’s set to hit the free agency market at the end of the campaign. The Phillies have the prospects to land him as well, making him one of the more intriguing players to go after if he becomes available.

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