Phillies could cut ties with breakout starter in shocking trade

The Philadelphia Phillies are just two games back of the New York Mets going into play on Tuesday. They could be aggressive at the trade deadline to make a World Series run this year.

The Phillies' starting rotation has been a strength of the team this year. Their 3.52 ERA from starters is the eighth-best in baseball. However, when Aaron Nola returns from the injured list, rookie starter Mick Abel may not have a spot in the rotation. Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, Christopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez have all been great and should not lose their spots to Abel.

Abel has a 2.21 ERA in four starts this season. Having too much pitching is not a bad thing in the long-term plan for an organization, but Abel becomes slightly expendable since the Phillies also have Andrew Painter slated to be a big part of their future. FanSided's Christopher Kline suggested the Phillies could trade Abel in order to improve elsewhere at the deadline.

"At a certain point, Painter will be up to speed and ready for his big-league moment," wrote Kline. "With all due respect to Abel, he is not on Painter's level, and any rotational tweaks to make space for a young arm will be executed with Painter in mind.

"So, rather than demoting Abel to the bullpen or sending a red-hot arm back to Triple-A, the Phillies could put Abel on the market," Kline continued. "We know Philadelphia needs outfield help more than anything. If a quality centerfielder becomes available — one that can put the Phillies' offense that much closer to bulletproof status — then it might be worth plugging Abel into the trade machine, just to see what comes of it."

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The Phillies have a roster built to make a run this year. If Abel cannot contribute to that consistently, then the team may be willing to part ways with him. Given his age and contract, Abel could yield the Phillies an elite outfielder in a trade. Abel is great insurance in case of an injury, but the Phillies may be aggressive in their pursuit of outfield help.

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