If the Phillies want to make a move on the trade market this offseason, it’s an outfielder Justin Crawford it can be one of the most important trading chips. The 20-year-old is widely considered one of the top five prospects in the organization, and is coming off a strong season in which he hit .313 with 42 stolen bases and a 130 wRC+ in High-A. The Jersey Shore and Two Readings. On that note, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that the Phillies could indeed be persuaded to part ways with Crawford, though he says they are not actively shopping the center fielder. In Gelb’s words, Philadelphia “didn’t rule Crawford out of trade talks” but only wanted to trade him “for a big leaguer and control the club for many years.”
None of this is surprising. The Phillies aren’t under any pressure to trade Crawford, and it’s possible (though unlikely) that he could contribute to the big league team early next season. That being said, if you are a top pitch prospect Andrew Painter and the chance of a top player Aidan Miller all are unaffected (which seems to be the case), the Phillies will likely have to include Crawford in a trade for a big leaguer with more than one year of team control. Philadelphia has not officially been linked to any trade candidates this offseason, but the first name that comes to mind as a possible target is the White Sox ace. Garrett Crochet. The Phillies were interested in Crochet at the trade deadline but declined when the White Sox wanted Painter as part of a return package. If Philadelphia isn’t willing to trade Painter, it’s hard to imagine them acquiring Crochet without including Crawford in the deal.
Gelb also indicated that the Phillies are at least looking to trade Nick Castellanos this winter. While it would be surprising if such a trade were to happen, it’s not hard to see why the Phillies would make him available. Even by charitable metrics, Castellanos was disappointing with the five-year, $100MM contract he signed before the 2022 season. With a 105 wRC+ in 2024, he was better than league average at the plate while not providing much value with his glove or his legs. However, for those exact reasons, the Phillies will have a hard time trading him unless they eat a large portion of the $40MM remaining on his 2025 and ’26 contract. Castellanos still offers value as a solid, contact-oriented hitter with good separation against left-handed pitching, not to mention a popular presence in the clubhouse and within the fanbase. In other words, there is no reason for the Phillies to want to pay him to play for another team without some significant return.
If the Phillies plan to shake up their major league roster, a number of realistic trade candidates include a third baseman. Alec Bohm and the first pitcher on the left Guard Suárez. Gelb reports that Philadelphia tried to “balance the interests of other clubs” for both players. Bohm was one of the most talked about trades this offseason, but the fact that the Phillies are actively shopping Suárez, even if they want to hear about his market, is new information.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has spoken repeatedly about the need for an “open mind” this winter, telling reporters, including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, that the Phillies may need to “trade good players for good players.” Naturally, that led to some speculation about the “good players” that Dombrowski might be talking about. Bohm, Suárez, second baseman Bryson Stottand foreign player Brandon Marsh they all appear to be reasonable businessmen. To this day, however, Bohm is the only one whose name appeared in any credible trade rumors.
Suárez’s trade value is a bit more complicated. On the other hand, he is coming off what was almost the best season of his career. Over 27 starts, the southpaw threw 150 2/3 innings with a 3.46 ERA and 3.61 SIERA, making the NL All-Star team and setting a new career high with a 3.5 FanGraphs WAR. On the other hand, he spent time on the injured list for the third year in a row and didn’t look sharp when he returned. He posted a 5.74 ERA and 4.37 SIERA in his last seven regular season starts.
So, it makes sense that the Phillies are trying to figure out how other teams can value his arm in a trade. Dombrowski has no good reason to sell short on Suárez. However, if he gets a strong enough offer, it’s not like he doesn’t have the means to replace Suárez in the rotation. The aforementioned possibility of trading Crochet is one option the Phillies could take. In addition, Painter is likely to produce meaningful innings in the rotation at some point in 2025. Furthermore, while the Phillies haven’t been linked to any top starting pitchers on the free agent market, that would certainly change if Suárez were out of the picture.
In more Phillies news, the team hired Blake Crosby to take on the role of assistant director, international scouting. He was previously a spy for the Pirates.
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