The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is closely approaching, and on all accounts the Phillies appear to be very active. One name that is almost expected to move is reliever Pat Neshek. In the American League East the New York Yankees have gotten a great deal of attention for the moves they have been making, but almost quietly the Tampa Bay Rays have jumped the Yankees in the standings and look poised to make some moves to go for the American League East title.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports the Phillies seem to be very focused on the Rays organization:
Source: Phillies doing heavy scouting of Rays system. TB interested in Pat Neshek. Rays have been scouring entire relief pitching market.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 22, 2017
Neshek would fit nicely in the Rays bullpen.
The Rays have Alex Colome as the club's closer and righty Brad Boxberger is behind him in the bullpen. The Rays need some help getting left-handed batters out in particular, and while Neshek is not a left-handed reliever, left-handed batters are batting just .189 against Neshek. That number is actually better than right-handed batters, who are hitting .212 off of Neshek. Of course, those numbers are both very, very good.
The Phillies All-Star representative is collectively 3-2 with a 1.14 earned run average and one save.
