3 Players the Phillies Need to Explore Trading in the Offseason

The 2019 season was a disappointing campaign for the Phillies in which they finished 81-81 and missed the playoffs, resulting in the firing of second-year manager Gabe Kapler. Now, as they shift gears toward 2020, it's evident that still more changes need to be made, and they should start by exploring the trade market with these three particular players.

3. Jay Bruce

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Jay Bruce was a strong power presence at the plate for the Phillies following the trade deadline, but with the emergence of Adam Haselely and the impending return of Andrew McCutchen from his torn ACL, he becomes extremely expendable. Considering he's a free agent at the end of the year and won't be in the team's long-term plans, they might as well ship him out. Someone might be willing to pay $14 million for 25-plus home run power.

2. Maikel Franco

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It's officially time to realize Maikel Franco isn't going to live up to the hype. He followed up his best season in the big leagues with a stinker in 2019, slashing .234/.297/.409 with 17 homers and 56 RBI in 123 games. On top of that, he was optioned to the minors in August. He won't be easy to trade, but there could be a team out there willing to gamble on a change of scenery helping the 26-year-old. There's just no sense in the Phillies having to pay him $6-$8 million in arbitration when they don't even need him.

1. Jake Arrieta

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There's nothing appealing about the idea of keeping Arrieta around for next season. He's dealing with elbow injuries, he's going to be 34, he's coming off of a season in which he put up an abysmal 4.64 ERA, and he's due $20 million. The Phillies don't even need to get a haul of prospects or reclamation projects in return, they just need to offload his contract. If they do, they could use that money to pursue big names like Gerrit Cole or middle-of-the-rotation arms like Tanner Roark in free agency. If they eat some of his salary, say $5 million, many more contenders would be willing to snag him for that price.