There should be a lot of movement around Major League Baseball in the final hours ahead of the 4:00 p.m. MLB Trade Deadline. The Phillies have not made a major league move yet, but rumors surrounding the Phillies continue to heat up. The latest involves a huge upgrade in center field.
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Phillies are a team in on Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton.
Phillies are among 6/7 teams checking in on Byron Buxton. With the Berrios deal, things have heated up. Phillies love BB for CF.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2021
Several reports indicated the Twins might move him if they cannot agree to a contract extension.
Buxton is a defensive wiz who has also been stellar at the plate. However, multiple injuries have gotten in the way of Buxton's 2021 season. Should the Phillies get him, he would be under Phillies control in 2022.
How might the Phillies get a deal done? One theory from Ben Ballier of Sports Talk Philly is that the Phillies could take on the contract of Josh Donaldson in order to make a deal. Donaldson is on a four-year, $92 million deal that has two seasons remaining after 2021.
The Phillies might then be able to include Alec Bohm in such a deal.
A lot of that is speculation, but Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will have to be creative to get some deals done, with a high payroll and with few prospects to trade.
The Phillies had previously been linked to Buxton.
