Phillies' MLB Trade Deadline Hopes Have Taken an Obvious Hit

The Philadelphia Phillies absolutely need to make some moves between now and the MLB trade deadline, as their roster could use some tweaking in various areas.

They need at least one other bat, preferably in the outfield. They need some depth in their starting rotation. They could also stand to add another arm or two in the bullpen.

Of course, the problem is that the Phillies don't exactly have a ton of assets at their disposal, so we probably can't expect them to swing a league-altering blockbuster before Aug. 3.

Philadelphia certainly can, however, complete multiple deals to at least patch up some holes, and one perfect trade partner seemed to be the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox have a vast array of veterans who represent very viable trade candidates, and the Phillies should be interested in just about all of them. More specifically, pitcher Sonny Gray, reliever Aroldis Chapman and outfielder Jarren Duran look like very enticing answers for Philadelphia.

Unfortunately for the Phillies, Boston may no longer be interested in selling.

Thanks to a recent surge in which the Red Sox have won 10 of their last 12 games, they are now firmly in the American League Wild Card race in spite of being just 42-48.

Boston also boasts a plus-17 run differential, so it's relatively safe to assume that the Sox are not quite as bad as their record indicates.

So are Gray, Chapman and Duran all entirely off the table for Philadelphia? As of right now, most likely.

The Red Sox are not a small-market team (even though they've sort of operated like one in recent years). They are generally always in win-now mode, and while they may not spend as freely as they once did, they still aren't going to throw in the towel when it's clear they are very much in playoff contention.

This is certainly bad news for the Phils, who absolutely had enough to land at least one of Boston's primary trade chips.

Now, it must be said that a lot can change over the next three-and-a-half weeks. The Red Sox could go into a complete tailspin and end up going into selling mode. In which case, the Phillies would come knocking.

But again, you kind of get the feeling that this Beantown squad is better than it was playing over the first three months of the campaign, and it may have reached a turning point over these last couple of weeks.

Should the Red Sox continue piling up victories, Philadelphia will have to look elsewhere for solutions ... and it might not be a very deep pool this summer.

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