The Chicago White Sox executed a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies at last year's trade deadline that netted the Sox a promising prospect. It would be nice if the White Sox and Phillies could swing a similar mutually beneficial trade this year.
The White Sox traded left-handed reliever Tanner Banks for promising infield prospect William Bergolla at last year's deadline.
Bergolla is considered to be the White Sox's 14th-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He is showing promise that he could help the big-league club someday with an average over .280 and a solid on-base percentage at Double-A Birmingham.
While Bergolla doesn't have much pop in his bat, getting him for Tanner Banks was still a nice return at the time. Banks had a 4.13 ERA when he was dealt last year, but he pitched much better once he went to Philadelphia with a 3.70 ERA.
The Phillies need bullpen help once again in 2025. Philadelphia is so desperate for bullpen help that they just signed veteran David Robertson, who has been sitting on his couch waiting for a lucrative offer. They could also use upgrades in the outfield.
The White Sox have players who can help the Phillies. Relievers like Steven Wilson and Danny Altavilla can potentially upgrade Philadelphia's bullpen, and ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan think the Phillies would be a good landing spot for Luis Robert Jr.
Mike Tauchman, Michael A. Taylor, and Austin Slater could also be veteran outfield options the Phillies could have interest in.
The Phillies are a polarizing trade partner for the White Sox
Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter ranks Philadelphia's farm system as the fifth best in baseball, but that is the only rave review the Phillies have gotten.
MLB.com ranked the Phillies prospect pool 17th back in March. McDaniel also gave Philadelphia the same ranking before the start of the season.
FanGraphs lists Philadelphia's prospect system as being bottom 10 in the league.
Phillies prospect are clearly polarizing, but seeing as they have six of the Top 100 prospects in baseball, the White Sox could do worse.
What matters most is what the White Sox scouting department thinks. If scouts see players who can help the organization in the long run, then the Sox should entertain doing business with the Phillies.
Trade 1 - Bundling assets to get a greater prospect return
The White Sox likely need to bundle some of their second-tier trade assets to get a return of players with MLB upside. Plus, it is the best way to add more dollars to the trade formulas the teams use.
Kiley McDaniel told the White Sox Talk Podcast during the offseason that front offices will convert a player into a "dollar value" as a way to measure the trade return they should get back. A prospect's dollar value is based on ranking using the scouts' 20-80 scale. The Marquee Network's Lance Brozdowski also recently reinforced that this is how front offices calculate trade value.
Using FanGraphs WAR converted to dollars value, Mike Tauchman is currently worth $9.9 million, while Steven Wilson is worth $3.5 million. I also believe context plays a role in projected trades, and the fact that Tauchman has never been an everyday player in his career matters.
Wilson was so bad, with a 5.35 ERA last season, that he was designated for assignment in the offseason.
The $13.4 million in total player value likely has to take a haircut with Tauchman being an older role player on a better team.
Thankfully, Wilson decided to stay with the organization and has been outstanding since his return to the 26-man roster this season. I think he would upgrade Philadelphia's bullpen. Wilson has an ERA that is just above 2.00 and oppenents are hitting just .225 in high leverage situations off him.
Wilson will not be a free agent until 2028, and that club control increases his value.
Tauchman's .822 OPS in the White Sox lineup makes him a left-handed hitting outfield upgrade over Max Kepler if he joins Philadelphia.
Carson DeMartini is the Phillies' 15th-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline with a 45 overall grade. FanGraphs gives a 45-grade player worth $6 million in value. The third baseman has 55-grade power with nine home runs between stints at High-A and Double-A ball this season. He had a .474 slugging percentage at High-A, but he is having some struggles finding his left-handed power stroke at Double-A with a .319 slugging percentage.
The Sox do need to add power to their system, and DeMartini can provide some pop.
Hendry Mendez is the Phillies' 25th-best prospect with a 40 overall grade. That converts him to $2 million in value per FanGraphs' scale. He is having a good season at Double-A with an OPS over .800. Mendez has a hitter profile the White Sox like. He hits left-handed and gets on base with a career .365 on-base percentage.
Alirio Ferrebus is the Phillies' 26th-ranked prospect with a 40 overall grade. Chris Getz loves catchers, and the 19-year-old is just starting to scratch the surface of his potential. He hit four home runs in the Complex League before getting promoted to Low-A. He is struggling to get going, but this is a player with the tools worth taking a shot.
He might not stick at catcher long-term, per his scouting report. He has played some first, and the White Sox could use more potential at that position.
Trade 2 - Sending Luis Robert Jr. to the Phillies
It is hard to get a gauge on what Luis Robert Jr's trade value truly is. He has had a rough season at the plate, but he can still crush left-handed pitching, plays elite defense in center field, and runs the bases well.
Those are three skills contenders need to win championships.
Since the start of July, Luis Robert Jr. has looked like the All-Star version of himself was saw in 2023. He still has the talent at the plate to take over a game.
It is clear Robert's trade value is no longer at its peak like it was when he made the All-Star team. His production at the plate is not enough to warrant the club exercising his $20 million option (yet), which is why the White Sox are being forced to trade him before the deadline.
FanGraphs currently has his WAR converted to dollars at $4 million. However, it was being floated back in May that the Mets were still willing to trade their No. 15 prospect, pitcher Blade Tidwell.
It will just depend on how desperate contenders are to get outfielders. If the market is dry, someone will over pay for Robert Jr.
That is why it might not be crazy for the Sox to demand the Phillies' 16th-best prospect in Jordan Spikerman. Philadelphia just might do it. Spikerman is a 45 overall grade player. A lot of it comes from his 70-grade speed, along with a 60-grade arm and fielding.
Spikerman does need to produce more at the plate. He currently has a .219 average at Low-A. He does have an OPS above .700, and had a .360 on-base percentage last season at Low-A Ball.
Carter Mathison is another speedster on the basepaths with 60-grade speed. He also has good scouting grades on his fielding and arm. The Phillies' 27th-ranked prospect has more power than Spikerman.
Guillermo Rosario is a 19-year-old prospect who Prospect1500 ranks as Philadelphia's 37th-best prospect. He'd be more of a developmental opportunity for Chicago.
Trade 3 - Trading a reliever for a lottery ticket
It might be hard for the White Sox to get the Phillies No. 11 prospect like they did last year with William Bergolla in the Tanner Banks trade.
Banks still had club control and threw left-handed. Brandon Eisert is the player that would be similar to trading Banks, and I'm not sure the White Sox have any interest in moving on from him right now.
Instead, the Sox could move Steven Wilson or one of their rentsal relievers for a lower-ranked prospect who still has a path to contribute to the majors.
Mavis Graves has a 45 overall grade, so that converts to around $4 million in value per FanGraphs. He is Philadelphia's 17th-ranked prospect. It might be a slight overpay, but the Phillies also just paid Robertson a prorated $17 million contract to help out their bullpen situation.
The 21-year-old lefty has the size the White Sox covet in their left-handers with him standing at 6-foot-6. The scouting report says he generates good spin on his breaking ball.
Graves currently has an over 5.50 at High-A ball, but he has 70 strikeouts in just 55 innings this season.