​Phillies interested in trade with Blue Jays for $10.75M Gold Glove outfielder originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Philadelphia Phillies are in dire need of upgrades at the 2026 MLB trade deadline. Bryce Harper knows the team needs help, and so does Dave Dombrowski.With needs in the outfield, the bullpen, and the rotation, Dombrowski has some work to do. Of those three markets, the outfield market is the most concerning one. The options are not abundant, and those that are available are not very appealing.But, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the Phillies are interested in Toronto Blue Jays’ $10.75 million, Gold Glove-winning outfielder Daulton Varsho.Phillies interested in Daulton Varsho as trade target”Daulton Varsho is among players who interest Phillies,” Heyman reports. “Philly seeks an OF, pen and a starter.”This report from Heyman shouldn’t come as a surprise to Phillies fans, as Varsho has been someone linked to Philadelphia often in the last few weeks leading up to the trade deadline.Of course, if there was one issue with Varsho, it would be that he’s not a right-handed-hitting outfielder. While he’s a lefty slugger, he does have some intriguing upside that the Phillies could just justify believing in.This season in 96 games and 324 at-bats, Varsho has a .247 batting average with a .691 OPS and an 88 OPS+, which isn’t great. But last season, he had an .833 OPS with 20 home runs in 248 at-bats, proving he has the ability to go on a hot streak.MORE: Giants willing to trade Heliot Ramos in big news for many MLB clubsFor his big league career, the 29-year-old has a .721 OPS, alongside some great defensive outs in center field. He could be a full-time replacement for Justin Crawford, who might be a key trade chip to acquire an upgrade elsewhere on the roster this summer.Adding Varsho would require some other moving parts, and since he’s a rental option, he is a left-handed hitter. But, he’s an upgrade over their current options, and the Phillies reportedly are interested in acquiring him.There’s been significant buzz between the Blue Jays and Phillies lately, so it would hardly be a surprise if the two teams linked up on a trade by the August 3 deadline.More MLB news:Yankees are ‘leading candidate’ to trade for Twins’ Ryan JeffersRed Sox ‘would love’ to trade for Angels’ Zach Neto or Astros’ Jeremy PenaPadres likely not to trade Mason Miller amid latest updateTigers expected to trade Tarik Skubal but still try to contend without himMets ‘desperate’ to trade Luis Robert Jr. after trade failure