BALTIMORE — Outfielders who are productive from the right side of the plate and potentially available in this trade market are almost as rare as a Mickey Mantle rookie card.
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The Phillies are getting an up-close look at one of them.
The Orioles’ Taylor Ward took a .383 on-base percentage into the final weekend before the trade deadline. He would be a fit for the Phillies, who were last in the majors with a .279 on-base mark and .639 OPS from their right-handed hitters.
One obstacle: The Orioles are on the buyer-seller fence.
“We’re not going to have a strong bias in either direction,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said before the Orioles opened a three-game series against the Phillies. “We put ourselves in a position where we’re not declaring ourselves to be in one bucket or another in terms of buying or selling.”
The Orioles entered the weekend with a 53-56 record and haven’t been over .500 since April 14 (9-8). But they were only 2½ games out of a wild-card spot in a mediocre, to put it kindly, American League.
Elias said the Orioles are closing in on getting catchers Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo, third baseman Blaze Alexander, starter Chris Bassitt, and closer Ryan Helsley back from the injured list.
And unlike National League bubble teams, who would have to contend in October with the superpower Dodgers and Brewers, the field is wide-open in the AL. Any team that makes the playoffs has a chance to make a deep run.
In that case, the Orioles may hold on to Ward, sixth in the AL in on-base percentage. Then again, he’s a pending free agent. And the righty-hitting outfield market got even thinner last week with injuries to the Reds’ Spencer Steer and Giants’ Casey Schmitt.
So, if the Orioles try to buy and sell simultaneously, maybe they can cash in Ward for a controllable asset.
Either way, Elias says he will be “open-minded.”
And he might not decide on anything until the weekend is over. After all, the deadline isn’t until 6 p.m. Monday.
“We are watching game by game,” Elias said. “This has turned out to be kind of a razor-wire situation going into this deadline, 2½ out, three games below .500. I think both of those are really disappointing, not particularly what we hope to be.
“But we still have a shot, a good shot in the American League. I mean, we are going to be watching the results of tonight’s game, tomorrow’s game, but it’s pretty important at this point that we have an idea of what we’re doing. We do have a shot.
“We do care about making the playoffs in 2026.”
The Phillies are exploring other righty-hitting outfield options, including the Angels’ Jo Adell, the Royals’ Lane Thomas, and the Giants’ Heliot Ramos. Thomas, in particular, would be more of a platoon option.
Ward undoubtedly would be at the head of the class, if the Orioles decide to move him.
Rincones returns
When the Phillies called up lefty-hitting outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. on June 12, they intended to start him against all right-handed pitchers.
Until this week.
Rincones, stuck in a 2-for-25 tailspin and batting .171 with a .500 OPS overall, wasn’t in the lineup Tuesday and Wednesday in Miami, even though the Phillies faced righty starters. He returned against Orioles righty Brandon Young.
“I just think, if he’s not in there, then he shouldn’t be here,” Mattingly said. “Gave him a couple of days to kind of reset, work on stuff, and hopefully we get a better version.”
Maybe it comes in the form of a trade, if the Phillies can upgrade Rincones’ spot in the outfield.
“It’s that side of the arm [right-handers] that he’s here for,” Mattingly said. “We’ve got to continue to find out. If we find out that it’s not working, then we have to make a change.”
Extra bases
Kyle Schwarber returned to the lineup after sitting out back-to-back games with a gastrointestinal issue. “He’s feeling better,” Mattingly said. … The Phillies were pleased with Zack Wheeler‘s between-starts bullpen session. Wheeler, who is scheduled to start Sunday, exhibited diminished fastball velocity in his previous start in Miami. “It was never a health[-related] thing,” Mattingly said. … An error charged to Trea Turner last Friday night was changed to a hit, MLB announced. Turner still leads the majors with 18 errors. … Cristopher Sánchez (13-4, 2.73 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday night against Orioles righty Shane Baz (4-9, 3.98).
No matter what moves the Phillies make before the trade deadline Monday, they will have to fix some of their issues internally. Chief among them: Trea Turner’s defense at shortstop. And that’s where infield coach Bobby Dickerson comes in. Dickerson sat down with “Phillies Extra,” The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss Turner’s struggles, the problems with analytics in measuring defense, his unique coaching style, and more. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Jim Bowden | John Middleton | Ryan Howard | Dan Baker | Ricky Bottalico | Preston Mattingly | Caleb Cotham | Larry Bowa | Joe Maddon | Rhys Hoskins
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