To fill a need in the starting rotation in early August, the Phillies acquired Noah Syndergaard for outfielders Mickey Moniak and Jaidel Sanchez and took on the remaining money from Syndergaard’s lucrative one-year, $21 million deal from the Los Angeles Angels.
Starting pitching was a priority for the Phillies at last year’s trade deadline. They previously expressed interest in Jose Quintana, Tyler Mahle and Marco Gonzales, who was reportedly discussed as part of a three-team trade between the Phillies, Mariners and Yankees.
Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports that the three teams discussed a deal prior to the deadline that would have “probably sent” Joey Gallo from the Yankees to Mariners and Gonzales from the Mariners to Phillies. The trade was never finalized and until more details are reported, we don’t know what the Phillies’ trade package to New York would have looked like.
Gonzales remained with the Mariners and Gallo was traded from the Yankees to Dodgers in a deal for pitching prospect Clayton Beeter.
Gonzales, 30, had a down year for Seattle. He went 10-15 with a 4.13 ERA over 183 innings. From the beginning of the season to the trade deadline, Gonzales had a 3.95 ERA in 21 starts. In 11 starts after the deadline, Gonzales had a 4.45 ERA.
He’s a soft tosser who gets his outs in the air and on the ground. His value is in his durability as Gonzales is 11th among all major league starters in innings pitched since 2018.
Could the Phillies renew their interest in Gonzales this offseason? It’s possible. As Divish notes, the Mariners have six starters and while Chris Flexen, who is a free agent after 2023, is the more likely of the six to get moved, the Mariners could also try to trade Gonzales again.
The M’s could cover a portion of the remaining two years and $18.5 million left on Gonzales’ contract. Maybe the most interesting part of this failed trade is that the Phillies were close to acquiring a back end starter who was under contract through 2024. It might be a sign that the Phillies, in their search for another starter this offseason, could be looking for a veteran who occupies a spot in the back of the Phillies rotation for multiple seasons.
