Yankees-Phillies trade idea sees Philadelphia cut ties with 2024 All-Star

The Philadelphia Phillies aren't firing on all cylinders this season, but they're starting to stack up wins.

Through seven weeks of the regular season, the Phillies are 28-18, only half a game back of first place in the competitive National League East. And it's a win-now season in Philadelphia, so there could easily be some wheeling and dealing ahead of the Jul. 31 trade deadline.

The Phillies saw top prospect Mick Abel debut to a scoreless five-inning, eight-strikeout performance on Sunday. Plus, the even more highly touted Andrew Painter could be on his way to the rotation later this year.

Does the arrival of Abel and Painter give the Phillies the green light to trade left-hander Ranger Suárez, an All-Star only 10 months ago, to address other roster needs? One baseball writer seems to believe so.

Late last week, Sam Bernardi of Heavy proposed that the Phillies could ship Suárez to the pitching-needy New York Yankees in exchange for relief pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. and top outfield prospect Everson Pereira.

"Suárez has missed time this season with lower back soreness and struggled when healthy, but is still a proven starter who would slot in nicely with (Max) Fried, (Carlos) Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, and (Luis) Gil," Bernardi wrote.

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"Pereira, meanwhile, is raking for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (.289 batting average, .948 OPS, 8 home runs through 90 at-bats) and would bolster a Phillies’ organization in need of a youth infusion. They have an aging core, and while they are also in win-now mode, they should consider balancing present needs with future support."

The logic behind trading Suárez is understandable, but the Phillies can and should hold out for better. It would be one thing if Pereira were still an ascending prospect having this much success at Triple-A, but he's in his third season there, so there's no guarantee the 24-year-old has the ceiling to star in the big leagues.

Plus, now that Aaron Nola is on the injured list, one would figure Suárez is staying put until the Phillies are certain they have five healthy starters that can contribute if they do make such a trade.

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