If there was ever a day on the calendar that would be a near lock for the Phillies to make a trade it’s July 29. Over the past twenty-plus years, the Philadelphia Phillies have made four franchise altering trades on this date. One trade sent a franchise cornerstone to “baseball heaven” and ultimately Cooperstown, while the others solidified one of the greatest runs in franchise history that should’ve brought more than one World Series title.
The Phillies made four major trades in their recent history on July 29.
2002: Acquire Plácido Polanco from Cardinals in Scott Rolen trade
2009: Acquire Cliff Lee from Cleveland
2010: Acquire Roy Oswalt from Astros
2011: Acquire Hunter Pence from Astros
(USA Today) pic.twitter.com/VUnOy5hz4J
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) July 29, 2023
Sigh, that Scott Rolen trade really hurts in more ways than one.
While Rolen was undoubtedly correct in asking to move on from the organization, just imagine a lineup with Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Scott Rolen, and Bobby Abreu. That’s a lot of tough outs. Plus, the addition of Placido Polanco, because the organization was braindead, pushed back the arrival and greatness of Chase Utley by a few seasons. But that’s a story to be written another day.
And how about Cliff Lee, all the dude did in his Phils’ debut was go 2-for-4 at the plate and throw a four-hit, one-run complete game. Good times, great memories.
Back to now, if the Phillies would really like to play into the drama, they’d announce a trade for Juan Soto at some point today. (NOT GONNA HAPPEN!)
