Phillies need to replace Andrew Painter, and can if they trade for Mike Trout and one other Angels star

Phillies need to replace Andrew Painter, and can if they trade for Mike Trout and one other Angels star originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Unfortunately for the Philadelphia Phillies, I don’t know how they can feel confident in Andrew Painter continuing to go out there every five days. 

The truth is that Painter obviously isn’t ready to throw at the highest level, and the Phillies probably should have understood that last year when he really struggled in Triple-A. 

The young man has dealt with some injuries throughout his career and probably just needed another year in the minor leagues before getting called up.

The Phillies also need some help in the outfield, with many fans hoping that Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout will be available and be the guy the Phillies go after. 

That’s definitely wishful thinking in a sense, though there’s reason to believe that the Phillies could make a trade with the Angels for two of the better players who could be available, with Trout and now right-hander Jose Soriano, who has been one of the better starters in baseball this season. According to MLB.com, the 27-year-old Soriano is being viewed as a trade candidate.

“Soriano got off to an incredible start to the season, and while he’s cooled off a bit, he still has an impressive arsenal of pitches that includes his power sinker, knuckle curve and splitter. The Angels could be reluctant to trade him but could get a big haul, as he’s under team control through 2028. He still has issues with walks but has improved his strikeout rate and induces ground balls at an elite rate,” Rhett Bollinger wrote.

If the Phillies could walk out of the trade deadline with guys like Soriano and Trout, I’d be pretty close to calling them one of the top three teams in the National League right now. Now, I have the Phillies somewhere around fifth, and I think that’s fair. 

At any given moment, they can beat any team, but they’re also a bit inconsistent and can lose to many teams. 

Adding those two guys would be a sign that they’re trying to win and are at least going all in while the window still seems open.

More MLB news: