As the Phillies look to put some final touches on a talented roster, Philadelphia is keeping an eye on as po sible outfield help, writes. Such a trade would naturally depend on whether or not the Diamondbacks are still in the playoff race by the deadline, and even if not, Arizona would still be hesitant about moving an outfielder who is controlled through the 2028 season. McCarthy has been been frequently mentioned in trade rumors in the past, even if his stock has ebbed and flowed over his first two full MLB seasons. McCarthy finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 and was subsequently a much-discu sed figure that offseason as the DBacks looked to sell from their surplus of left-handed hitting outfielders. ( ended up being the outfielder moved in the December 2022 trade that brought and to the desert.) However, McCarthy ran into a sophomore Ryan Pressly Jersey slump last year, hitting .243/.318/.326 over 312 plate appearances and he was demoted to Triple-A, before an oblique injury then sidelined him for the Diamondbacks playoff run. As per from Nightengale in February, Arizona offered the White Sox either McCarthy or in a trade for pitching prospect this past winter, with Chicago opting to take Fletcher. If McCarthys Diamondbacks tenure really was that close to coming to an end, he has done well in his second act with the club. McCarthy hit his third homer of the season in todays game against the Padres, and entered Sundays action hitting .268/.354/.370 over his first 160 PA. Todays home run was a rarity for a player who hasnt shown much power and whose barrel and hard-hit ball rates are both mediocre McCarthys 22.5% hard-hit ball rate ranks only in the second percentile of all batters. A .327 BABIP has accounted for a good chunk of McCarthys succe s, but his excellent speed has also been a benefit in turning some of those balls in play into extra hits. His strikeout and walk rates are both above average, and on the defensive side, McCarthy has been roughly average to slightly below average as a right fielder. The DBacks have deployed McCarthy in left and center field on occasion, but he has mostly been used in a right field platoon with the right-handed hitting . Oddly, McCarthy has hit southpaws much better than he has right-handed pitchers this season, with a .917 OPS in 32 PA against lefties and a .674 OPS in 128 against righties. Between his years of control, his age (27 next month), and his past draft pedigree as the 39th overall pick in 2018, McCarthy would be far from a rental piece for the Phillies for any team looking to pry the outfielder away from Arizona. The Phils acquisition of from the Angels at the 2022 trade deadline could be a comp here, as that deal also saw Philadelphia land a left-handed hitting outfielder with some past prospect appeal who hadnt quite gotten it all together at the MLB level. That saw the Phillies land Marsh for , another well-regarded young player who was blocked at catcher by , so the Phils and Angels mutually addre sed each others needs for outfield and catching help. Marsh has gone on to become a solid regular in the Philadelphia outfield, this season acting as the strong side of a left-field platoon with . Marsh is currently on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring injury that isnt considered too serious, so in the event that McCarthy was acquired, the Phillies would likely view him as a left-handed hitting complement to in center field and even in right field. Rojas hasnt hit at all this season and his once-impre sive center field glove has been much closer to average. Castellanos defensive limitations are well-known but the bigger i sue has been his bat, as Castellanos is hitting .215/.275/.360 with nine homers over 269 PA. The veteran is on pace for the second negative-fWAR season in his three years with Philadelphia, which isnt a great sign considering that Castellanos is still owed $40MM over the remaining two years of his five-year, $100MM contract. The lack of production from Castellanos or Rojas hasnt much slowed the Phillies down in their run to the NLs best record, but the outfield does stand out as a natural area to addre s as one of the clubs relatively few weak links. Acquiring a rental player at the deadline might be a more logical idea for the Phils given how Castellanos will still be in the mix for the next two years, and trading for a shorter-term outfielder would come at a much le ser prospect cost than McCarthys price tag. Since only four National League teams are above the .500 mark, the Diamondbacks are still just outside the wild card picture despite their unimpre sive 30-35 record. There is still plenty of time for the reigning NL champions to turn things around, and the DBacks would have to be pretty decidedly out of the running at the deadline for the front office to turn to selling, considering that the team has invested heavily in trying to remain a top contender. Even if Arizona does sell, impending free agents and veteran players figure to be the teams first options for trade candidates before getting around to considering moving controllable players like McCarthy. Even if its true that the DBacks were willing to take Mena (not a highly-touted pitching prospect) for McCarthy last winter, Arizona might be in a position to demand more in return for McCarthy now, given his improved numbers and some extra leverage the Diamondbacks might hold in shopping him to needy contenders come July 30. 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