Phillies Trade Idea Replaces Jordan Romano for Top Reliever in Baseball by Trading Mick Abel originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Phillies will be buyers at the trade deadline, but the same can be said for multiple teams around the league. For Dave Dombrowski’s squad, the hope was that many teams around the league wouldn’t be buyers.
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With the third Wild Card being as competitive as it is in both divisions, it’s certainly possible that there will be more buyers than ever this year.
Still, the Phillies have an excellent prospect pool, and in a recent trade proposal from Dylan Sanders, they’d move on from Mick Abel and more for a star from the Baltimore Orioles.
That player was none other than Felix Bautista, a right-handed reliever among Major League Baseball’s best closers.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jordan Romano (68) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park.Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
“The trade: Philadelphia sends RHP Mick Abel and OF TJayy Walton to Orioles for Bautista
“With Jose Alvarado out for the postseason and the lack of a true closer yet again, now seems like the time to go all out and try to bring in an impact arm. It also seems like the last chance to get the most out of Mick Abel, who has slowed down from his hot start to his MLB career. Bautista missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, but he has bounced back with a 2.56 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 31.2 innings. His ERA is down to just 1.06 in his last 17 outings,” he wrote.
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Moving Abel feels a bit premature, but there were already reports before his few rough outings recently that he could be dealt with.
He was sent to Triple-A, which made sense, but the Phillies have to decide if they want to keep and develop him or try to find a win-now piece like Bautista.
Related: Phillies Trade Idea Lands Twins Byron Buxton With ‘Godfather’ Offer
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
