PITTSBURGH – The rumors will continue to swirl as the trade deadline inches closer and the Phillies play their best baseball of the season.
The Phillies may decide against paying the price to trade for Manny Machado, but they will try to address their bullpen and could add a bat to come off the bench. And Jake Arrieta, who thought this team could reach the postseason when he signed before the season, said he would not be surprised if the Phillies made a trade this month.
“If you make a really big move you probably have to give up some prospects or maybe a major-league ready guy that you don’t necessarily want to give up for a chance to maybe have that guy only for a couple of months and then you don’t know if you can sign them in free agency,” said Arrieta, seeming to reference the team’s pursuit of Machado.