MLB Trade Rumors: 6 Bullpen Trade Targets for Phillies

This isn't the first time that the Philadelphia Phillies have been searching for a strong bullpen arm in recent years, but per baseball insider and former MLB GM Jim Bowden, the Phils are "determined to land a dominant back-end-of-the-bullpen reliever" by this season's trade deadline.

And Bowden is confident they'll be able to pull it off.

To that end, he's listed six trade targets for the Phillies to look at as they hit the reliever market (along with most other contenders):

Félix Bautista, Baltimore Orioles
Mason Miller, Athletics
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Angels
Kyle Finnegan, Washington Nationals
Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox
David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates

Bowden likes Bautista as the best target for the Phillies to go after. He's coming back this season after a lost year to Tommy John surgery. He's been getting stronger as the season goes along, as he hasn't allowed a run in six of his last seven outings going into Tuesday's action.

If he can get even close to his 2023 form, when he posted 33 saves and a 1.48 ERA with a ridiculous 16.2 K/9, he would be a spectacular addition to the Phillies (or any team's) bullpen. He's also under team control for another two seasons after this one.

Mason Miller is not someone the A's want to trade, despite his struggles this year. The 26-year-old flamethrower still has 13 saves with his 4.63 ERA, and has struck out 15.4 batters per nine.

Teams know exactly what they're getting in Jansen, a future Hall of Famer who's still logging saves reliably at the age of 37, and Finnegan, whose stuff isn't the best, but he's having a great year, among the league leaders with 18 saves, and a 2.38 ERA.

Chapman is aging, but has cut down the walks significantly this year, which has resulted in a 1.65 ERA along with 11 saves for the Red Sox.

Bednar started the year shaky, but has seven consecutive scoreless outings, and has settled back into being a top reliever, with a 3.74 ERA and a 31:5 K/BB ratio in 21.2 innings.

Any of these could help solidify the Phillies' bullpen, with Jordan Romano looking extremely shaky, and regular closer Jose Alvarado suspended until mid-August.