As Opening Day nears, the Philadelphia Phillies have one of their veteran fielders on the trade block.
As the Philadelphia Phillies put the finishing touches on their Opening Day roster, they’ve decided that one of their veterans simply won’t fit heading into the year, and are talking with teams about a potential trade days before the season opens.
Dave Dombrowski said on Monday that the Phillies informed Garrett Stubbs that he won’t be on the Opening Day roster. With that, the Phillies executive also noted that the team is determine what the next steps are for him, which could include a trade.
“He knows he's not going to make the club,” said Dombrowski. “We will continue to talk to clubs, to see you if somebody has major league interest in him until Wednesday, which is when our Opening Day roster has to be filed.”
The Phillies, along with every MLB team, must submit their Opening Day rosters by Wednesday, so if a trade involving Stubbs occurs, it will happen quickly.
Apr 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs (21) in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn ImagesThat said, there is a chance that Philadelphia doesn’t find a trade partner for Stubbs between now and then. If that proves to be the case, Dombrowski said the team also has another plan in place.
The Phillies exec continued, “If we do not come up with a deal at that time, we'll then designate him for assignment; have a chance, then, to continue maybe talking for a couple days, and then, eventually, you have to ask the waivers on him at that point, but he knows what's going on.”
At the end of the day, if the Phillies do end up trading Stubbs, it likely wouldn’t be for a current Major League-caliber player. The best-case scenario is either a low-level Minor League player or a deal with the Phillies that gets some cash consideration in return.
During Spring Training, Stubbs has logged five hits in 24 at-bats, including two extra-base hits, but a team with interest in the veteran will likely value him more for his veteran defense. Perhaps that was one of the reasons the Phillies tried moving him around the diamond in a utility role during Grapefruit League play.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Phillies do end up finding a trade partner for Stubbs, but either way, it appears the veteran’s time in Philadelphia could be coming to an end.
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