By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
It's June, which means that hot stove season is upon us. Over the course of the next two months, the Philadelphia Phillies are likely to be involved in countless trade rumors. This week's edition of "Phillies Nuggets" focuses on which five players general manager Matt Klentak is most likely to part with this summer.
5. Andres Blanco
The Phillies reportedly expected Blanco to draw trade interest last July, before he broke his left index finger just prior to the trade deadline. Blanco finished out the 2016 season with the Phillies, eventually returning to the club on a one-year/$3 million deal in the offseason.
Blanco has been quite disappointing in 2017, posting a triple-slash of .184/.273/.265 and a BABIP of .216, all of which are significantly down from what he's posted in his first two seasons with the Phillies. It is worth noting, though, that Blanco has only had 55 at-bats and his production in 2015 and 2016 suggest that he's due for some positive regression.
In his time with the Phillies, Blanco has earned the nickname "Whitey," because he's been one of the few stabilizing veteran forces during the team's rebuild. That, and the fact that he's able to play every position in the infield, should be attractive to some buyers.
The Phillies could hold onto Blanco for the remainder of 2017, rather than trading him, but he doesn't seem to have a future in Philadelphia beyond 2016. The team already has Cesar Hernandez, Freddy Galvis, Tommy Joseph and Maikel Franco at the major league level, with a good chance that Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery and Jesmuel Valentin are all here at some point in 2018. There just isn't going to be roster room for Blanco moving forward.
It's entirely possible that the Phillies will have to wait until August to move Blanco, either to a team that missed out on landing someone like Howie Kendrick or suffers an injury to a key infielder after July 31.
Potential suitors: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rays, Twins, Mariners, Cubs
4. Joaquin Benoit
A season ago, a disastrous month of June plagued Benoit's time with the Seattle Mariners, leaving him with a 5.18 ERA in 26 appearances. The Toronto Blue Jays bought low on the veteran, and got a gigantic payoff, as he posted a 0.38 ERA in 25 regular season games, helping the Blue Jays to reach the playoffs.
When the Phillies signed the 39-year-old to a one-year/$7.5 million deal this offseason, the club hoped they were getting someone closer to how Benoit looked in Toronto than in Seattle. He also seemed to be an insurance policy in case Jeanmar Gomez or Hector Neris slipped up in the closer's role. Thus far, the results have been a very mixed bag.
Minus allowing a walk-off home run to Bryce Harper on Easter Sunday, Benoit pitched well in April, posting a 2.31 ERA in 11.2 innings. However, in May he blew another save, eventually handing the job over to Hector Neris, and posted a 5.23 ERA. So Benoit hasn't been especially effective for much of the season, and wasn't able to stabilize the ninth inning when the team needed him to.
Benoit is in the midst of a disabled list stint with a left knee sprain, but when he comes back he figures to draw trade interest from suitors hoping that he can once again be magical in the second half of the season. The Phillies aren't likely to get a huge payoff in their investment in Benoit, however, and may have to take on a little money to move him.
Potential suitors: Twins, Tigers, Mariners, Rangers, Nationals, Reds, Brewers, Dodgers, Rockies, Diamondbacks
Likelihood of being traded: 7.5/10
3. Howie Kendrick
Howie, Philadelphia still hardly knows ya. They may not get much time to get acquainted either.
Kendrick missed over a month with an abdominal strain, which coincided with one of the worst stretches of Phillies baseball in recent memory. When he's been on the field, however, he's been really good.
The 33-year-old, who the Phillies acquired in an offseason trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is slashing .348/.394/.545 in 66 at-bats in 2017. Kendrick's success has obviously come in a small sample size, but reports of his demise after a disappointing 2016 were greatly exaggerated.
Kendrick has played in left field for the Phillies, but the fact that he can play both corner outfield positions and every spot in the infield will make him extremely attractive in July.
Potential suitors: Yankees, Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Twins, Diamondbacks
Likelihood of being traded: 8/10
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2. Jeremy Hellickson
Like last year, he will be a lot of team's B or C option at the non-waiver trade deadline, but the Phillies are more motivated to move him in 2017, so expect a deal.
It will be harder for Hellickson to be much hotter than he was leading up to the trade deadline in 2016 — he was 3-1 with a 2.39 ERA over 37.2 innings in July of 2016 — but that strong month didn't seem to sway the opinion of Hellickson. The reality is that teams view Hellickson as being a solid No. 4 starter, someone who falls somewhere in between the 2016 and 2017 versions of himself. He is, as he showed for stretches of 2016, capable of pitching above that level at times.
Is there a scenario where the Phillies don't get offers that they like for Hellickson and consider keeping him for the rest of the season and trying to re-sign him in the offseason? It's not impossible, but it remains unlikely. While Hellickson reportedly may have interest in remaining in Philadelphia long-term, his agent remains Scott Boras, so there's a good chance he will go to the highest bidder this offseason. Since the new CBA prevents the Phillies from placing a qualifying offer on the 30-year-old for the second consecutive offseason, the Phillies simply could not risk holding onto Hellickson for the rest of the season.
In theory, they could trade him and attempt to re-sign him this offseason, but the guess here is that Hellickson began his second last month in red pinstripes Sunday.
Potential suitors: Astros, Twins, Brewers, Red Sox, Indians, Tigers, Orioles, Rangers, Mariners, Rockies, Cubs, Reds, Dodgers
Likelihood of being traded: 9/10
1. Pat Neshek
It truly is a shame that Neshek has been a part of a bad bullpen and a team on-pace for over 100 losses, because he's been quite good and his energy is infectious. He's the type of player that would have been a fan-favorite on a contending Phillies team. But Philadelphia's loss is sure to be another team's gain this summer.
Neshek, who the Phillies acquired just prior to the Astros having to make a decision on his 2017 option, is in the midst of the best season of his career. The Phillies recently named the 36-year-old their closer, which makes sense when you consider that he has a 0.82 ERA and 2.29 FIP in 24 games (22.0 innings) in 2017.
Neshek is an impending free-agent and at the back-end of his career, so the Phillies should be very motivated to capitalize on his value. Given his flexibility and the level that he's pitching at in 2017, a third of the league should be motivated to pry Neshek away from the Phillies.
Potential suitors: Twins, Tigers, Angels, Rangers, Nationals, Mets, Brewers, Cardinals, Dodgers, Rockies, Diamondbacks
Likelihood of being traded: 10/10
Phillies Tweet of the Week
A sampling of my favorite Mike Schmidt responses. pic.twitter.com/8P9SEjWxEC
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) June 7, 2017
The Nuggets
- The fact that Michael Saunders isn't in the top five of Phillies who are most likely to be traded shows how much of a disappointment he's been. The Phillies probably will be able to dump him in an August waiver trade, though it's not entirely clear why a team would be interested in Saunders unless he heats up.
- As Tom McCarthy noted on a telecast earlier this week, scouts continue to rave about how first baseman Rhys Hoskins looks for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. After a rough April, Tommy Joseph has been quite good, but he may become expendable because of the presence of Hoskins. John Stolnis of The Good Phight took a look at some potential suitors for the 25-year-old.
- There's little that would make me not interested in Bryce Harper after 2018, but if this anonymous general manager is correct in estimating that his value on the open market will be a 15-year deal, I'm out. There's just too much that can go wrong in that amount of time, and if he's locked up through age 41, it's not as much of a slam dunk that he opts out of the deal at some point. I would be shocked if he gets a 15-year deal, for the record.
- When you consider that Jim Bunning is a Hall of Famer and his No. 14 is retired by the Phillies, it's strange that the Phillies haven't added a patch to their jerseys in remembrance of Bunning.
