MLB Rumors: Phillies trade with Mets for Tommy Pham, Mark Canha on the table

The Philadelphia Phillies possibly stumbled onto an unexpected solution at first base coming into the weekend. On Friday night, Bryce Harper moved to the infield after serving as the designated hitter since returning from injury earlier in the season — and he more than looked the part, making a number of impressive defensive efforts and fitting well.

With the season-long absence of Rhys Hoskins, who suffered an ACL tear in the spring, potentially now no longer an issue with Harper at first base, that could open up the possibilities for the Phillies at the trade deadline. Specifically, it opens doors for Philadelphia to upgrade the lineup with a right-handed bat, as has been noted as a priority by Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

And they might be able to target an unlikely trade partner to make a deal: the rival New York Mets.

Among other options for the Phillies, Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors noted that both Tommy Pham and Mark Canha could be options for Philadelphia to explore as they could now add an outfielder if Harper remains at first base to put less strain on his surgically repaired UCL.

Pham, who signed just a one-year deal this past offseaosn with the Mets, has been out of the lineup with a groin injury for some time, but a return appears to be coming soon. When on the field, the veteran outfielder has been quite good, slashing .272/.356/.475 with nine home runs, 15 doubles and a triple to his credit.

Meanwhile, Canha has a club option for 2024, essentially making the 34-year-old a free agent after this season if a team wants to get his salary off the books. He's been less productive than Pham, with a .241/.342/.399 slash line with six home runs and 14 doubles, but could still be a veteran hitter to add to the lineup.

While it remains up in the air how aggressively Steve Cohen and the Mets will sell at the trade deadline, Pham and Canha could be moved regardless as both could be expendable to try and make one final push this season. If that's the case, then the rare trade between division rivals could make a ton of sense for the Phillies to explore.

MLB Rumors: Cubs face dilemma with Marcus Stroman, Cody Bellinger trades

Though it has been logical for much longer, it's become more apparent over the past week-plus that the Chicago Cubs are inclined to sell their biggest trade assets at the 2023 deadline in order to bolster the roster and system for the 2024 campaign and beyond. Translation: Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger will likely have new homes after Aug. 1.

Where will that home be? That's obviously the first dilemma that any trade deadline seller faces, the Cubs or otherwise: Finding the best possible deal possible for what the organization needs. But with Chicago, it's even more nuanced than that.

It was reported on the Onto Waveland podcast that the Tampa Bay Rays, who have recently found themselves falling out of first place in the AL East amid a myriad of pitching injuries, are "doing homework" on Stroman. At the same time, though, they are reportedly not one of the teams in the mix for Bellinger.

Therein lies the dilemma for the Cubs and one that the front office will have to be diligent in trying to make the right decision regarding. There are sure to be teams such as the Astros, Yankees, and many others who would love to work a deal that would land them both Stroman and Bellinger. However, Chicago will need to, in the simplest terms, figure out if they can get a better return packaging their two star trade assets together or by dealing them separetly.

In all likelihood, a plethora of phone calls and conversations with trade suitors is the only possible way for the Cubs to gauge the potential returns for these trades. But what they figure out and how they act on the intel receive will be a crucial factor in determining if Chicago comes out of the deadline as a winner or loser.

MLB Rumors: Red Sox trade package for Shohei Ohtani proposed

As with any big-name trade target, there are a bevy of New York Yankees fans who want the club to go all-in on a Shohei Ohtani trade to make a push this season but also in the hopes of luring him to stay beyond the end of the 2023 season when he hits free agency this winter.

But what if the Boston Red Sox stuck a knife in the hearts of their biggest rivals by making that trade for Ohtani instead?

An Ohtani trade in itself is unlikely at this point, as has been widely reported. If it were to happen, though, Molly Burkhardt of MLB.com put together a Red Sox trade package that would fit what the Angels are reportedly seeking in the way of multiple Top 100 prospects. The package would be headlined by baseball's No. 3 overall prospect, Marcelo Mayer, and then a combination of Boston's five other Top 100 prospects.

Burkhardt also noted that, if the Red Sox were reluctant to part with Mayer for a rental of Ohtani with no guarantee that he'd stay in Boston, then the other consideration would be including Brayan Bello or 2023 breakout Jarren Duran in the deal.

As brand-name and eye-catching as landing Ohtani would be, though, it's hard to not see this as an untenable situation for the Red Sox on the trade market. For his faults, Chaim Bloom has done well in rebuilding the organization's farm system in recent years with Mayer being the headliner, though Bello is making his case with his ascension in the majors this season. To erase all that work for a rental of Ohtani would seem incredibly short-sighted.

Boston fans would surely love to hurt Yankees dreams with an Ohtani trade, but the pieces necessary to make that deal are, most likely, not worth it. As such, they'd be best-served to let other bidders fight for the two-way sensation.