How the Phillies’ trade deadline moves made the roster deeper, better equipped for playoff push

CINCINNATI — In two seasons with the Reds, Nick Castellanos played a bunch of divisional games against the St. Louis Cardinals. Surely, then, he knew all about Edmundo Sosa’s reputation as a gifted defensive infielder before they became teammates with the Phillies last month.

“I would say definitely the plays that he’s made here have stuck out more than anything that I saw when I played against him,” Castellanos said. “I just thought that he was one of the guys in the mix over there in St. Louis. But also, everybody in St. Louis plays great defense.”

True. The Cardinals usually rate among the most fundamentally sound teams in baseball, one of the primary reasons they have made the playoffs in 15 of the last 22 seasons.

But Castellanos had a broader point. All the best teams have deep rosters. And if the Phillies are clear-eyed about why they are 47-69 in September since 2018 and got toppled in four consecutive playoff races, they must realize it’s because the drop-off from the top of the roster to the bottom two-thirds was steeper than a roller coaster at Six Flags.

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The problem isn’t easily fixed. It takes time to build organizational depth. It doesn’t happen in one offseason. The roster churn is constant. But in the days before the Aug. 2 trade deadline, as most of the industry fixated on Juan Soto’s destination and landing spots for pitching prizes Luis Castillo and Frankie Montas, Dave Dombrowski focused on strengthening the Phillies’ roster by lengthening it.

“I love star players. I always have. I have acquired a lot of them,” said Dombrowski, the team’s president of baseball operations. “I know [owner] John Middleton likes that. But we do have some star players. I think one of the problems that we’ve had more so is the depth of talent in our organization.”

Dombrowski, general manager Sam Fuld, and the front office went to work on that. The Phillies acquired Sosa from the Cardinals for lefty reliever JoJo Romero; center fielder Brandon Marsh from the Los Angeles Angels for touted catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe; veteran reliever David Robertson from the Chicago Cubs for upstart double-A pitcher Ben Brown; and starter Noah Syndergaard from the Angels for outfielder Mickey Moniak and single-A outfielder Jadiel Sanchez.

Voilà! Behold, a deeper, more complete roster with newcomers who were responsible for Monday night’s 4-3 victory over the Reds and put the Phillies into the second wild-card spot, a half-game ahead of the Soto-led San Diego Padres entering play Tuesday night.

The Padres were widely hailed as the big winners at the deadline, landing Soto, Josh Bell, closer Josh Hader, and infielder Brandon Drury. The Seattle Mariners, playoff outsiders since 2001, went all-in on a prospect-packed trade for Castillo. The Minnesota Twins picked up starter Tyler Mahle, closer Jorge López, and reliever Michael Fulmer. And the Atlanta Braves were typically aggressive in getting reliever Raisel Iglesias, outfielder Robbie Grossman, utilityman Ehire Adrianza, and depth starter Jake Odorizzi.

But two weeks after the deadline, it’s clear that the Phillies’ new additions represent an upgrade over the players they replaced, while also enabling infielders Johan Camargo and Yairo Muñoz, lefty Bailey Falter, and others to provide greater depth in triple A. The roster seesaw is more balanced, rather than being weighed down by the handful of star players on one side.

Consider what happened Monday night:

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Sosa gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead in the third inning with a two-run single, then added an RBI double in the fifth. But it was his diving backhand stop on a drive down the third-base line in the fourth inning and his sliding play up the middle in the fifth that had the clubhouse buzzing.

“All the reports [from before the trade] were off the charts, but we didn’t see that type of defense,” interim manager Rob Thomson said. “We saw solid defense. But there weren’t many big plays that he had to make. We’ve seen some diving plays, sliding plays. So, it’s better than what I expected.”

The Phillies have gone 3-0 in Syndergaard’s starts while striking a symbiotic relationship with the former New York Mets flamethrower. They value his veteran presence in the rotation spot vacated when Zach Eflin injured his knee again in late June. He brings experience that neither Falter nor fellow rookie lefty Cristopher Sánchez has, especially in a playoff race.

Syndergaard, meanwhile, has been a 6-foot-6 lump of clay for pitching coach Caleb Cotham and director of pitching development Brian Kaplan. Two years removed from Tommy John elbow surgery, he no longer throws 97 mph. So, they have worked with him on simplifying his delivery and tweaking his pitch mix to optimize his effectiveness after missing most of the last two years.

To his credit, Syndergaard has been a willing pupil.

“I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be,” he said. “The strides that I’ve made in two rotation turns with Caleb and Kap have been amazing. I’ve never had more confidence on the mound this year. It shows in my stuff and my abilities to execute pitches.”

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Robertson took on the late-inning role that the Phillies envisioned for ineffective Jeurys Familia. He’s also as effective against left-handed hitters as he is against righties, which gives Thomson an alternative to erratic lefty José Alvarado.

After Syndergaard gave up a leadoff homer in the eighth inning Monday night, Robertson came on and struck out switch-hitting Donovan Solano before getting lefty-swinging Joey Votto to ground into a double play.

“He’s been in all those big moments — playoffs, World Series, pennant drives,” Thomson said. “And when you have a guy like that, it kind of settles everybody else down.”

A successful trade deadline can have that effect, too.