There has been a good deal of speculation as to why the Phillies’ offense isn’t better than it is. While there’s no one single cause for the (not as bad as some think) underperformance, I think the biggest reason is the lack of power, especially from the right side of the plate. It’s possible that they don’t have a single righthanded hitter hit more than 20 home runs this season, and there have been some games where you can really feel that lacking.
If the Phillies are going to look for outfield help
this month, I don’t want Steven Kwan, who is lefthanded and also doesn’t have much power (we already have Brandon Marsh for that). On the other hand, the Angels’ Taylor Ward might be right up their alley.
Ward is certainly not a complete player. He doesn’t hit for much average (.224 this season and .248 for his career), and his defense in the outfield is not good. But, if you’re looking for a guy to hit the ball out of the ballpark, you could do far worse. He hit 25 home runs in 2024 and is on pace to well surpass that total this season with 21 so far this year.
HR #21 for Taylor Ward
— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) July 11, 2025
It would be nice if the Angels started losing so they would become sellers. pic.twitter.com/tba9KjdD2E
Adding Ward would eliminate a need for a platoon in left field as his numbers against righthanded pitching are fine (.745 OPS in 2025, .741 for his career). However, Johan Rojas (or Justin Crawford?) would likely get some additional work as a late inning defensive replacement.
The Phillies and Angels have linked up on midseason trades before. In 2022, they made dual trades which saw the Phillies pick up Brandon Marsh and Noah Syndergaard while sending away Mickey Moniak and Logan O’Hoppe. (More on him later.)
It isn’t clear if Ward is even on the market. At 47-49, the Angels are probably just out of playoff contention, but it’s possible they can fool themselves into thinking they could make a run with a healthy Mike Trout. (Although nothing in the Angels’ history with Trout should lead them to believe this will happen).
It isn’t clear what kind of compensation Ward would merit. It seems to be a seller’s market, and despite being 31, Ward is still on his rookie contract for another season. (He was a late bloomer and didn’t become a regular until he was 28.) I wouldn’t necessarily give up Aidan Miller for him, but the Angels also have no incentive to sell low.
X-Men character of the series
Strong Guy
Guido Carosella was late to the superhero game, usually serving as a bodyguard for rock star Lila Chaney. But he eventually joined the X-Men offshoot group X-Factor, putting his mutant powers to use to benefit society.
Today’s Mutant of the day is Guido Carosella A.K.A Strong Guy!
— Daily X-Men! (@DailyMutantsX) February 5, 2024
First Appearance: New Mutants #29 (March 1985)
Created by: Chris Claremont & Bill Sienkiewicz pic.twitter.com/JgmK3G5YnP
Strong Guy doesn’t have the most diverse power set. He absorbs kinetic energy, making him stronger (Hence, the extremely clever code name). He’s not all that exciting of a character, but if you’re forming a super team and need someone with physical power, maybe he’s your (Strong) guy.
Additional thought about the series
Earlier this season, Angels’ catcher Logan O’Hoppe found his way onto Phillies fans’ social media feeds and there was a bit of a #shouldofkept movement. The former Phillies farmhand has hit 17 home runs this season, which stands in contrast to the six total home runs the Phillies catchers have provided this season.
Phillies massively lost the O’Hoppe for Marsh trade.
— Greg (@GreatGihad) May 17, 2025
I’ve maintained that O’Hoppe was always going to get traded. The Phillies weren’t going to keep a good catching prospect on the bench behind J.T. Realmuto for multiple seasons, nor were they going to trade Realmuto in favor of a rookie. (Could they have done better than getting a platoon outfielder in return? That’s a question worth asking.)
If we delve deeper into O’Hoppe’s performance, the amount of regret over letting him go lessens. The home runs are nice, especially since I’ve already gone over the Phillies’ lacking in that department. But he has been worth just 0.4 wins above replacement this season, which is concerning for a player at a premium position who has 17 home runs.
Honest Question:
— Phillies Central (@philscentral_) June 12, 2025
Besides decent power, is there anything else Logan O’Hoppe brings to the table?
Phillies fans have been giving this guy WAY too much credit. pic.twitter.com/kgMNos5XVY
Realmuto actually has a higher OPS than O’Hoppe. If you get annoyed at the Phillies’ plate discipline, you probably wouldn’t enjoy O’Hoppe’s 13/98 walk to strikeout ratio. And while there’s so much that goes into playing catcher that I’m not sure metrics can truly capture it, most rankings have Realmuto as the superior defender.
That said, O’Hoppe is just 25, and catchers can take longer to develop than other positions. There’s still plenty of time for him to make the Phillies regret trading him, and with Realmuto about to hit free agency, it would be nice to have an heir apparent on hand. But for the time being, it’s difficult to declare the Phillies the losers of that trade.
More from thegoodphight.com:
- The latest odds on where Bryce Harper will land are out. Where are the Phillies?
- Hittin’ Season #219: Which Phillies will NOT be here in 2019?
- FanPost Friday: You can be the Phillies (assistant) GM in the SB Nation Offseason Simulation
- Phillies Stat Notes: Analyzing The Collapse
- Real World: A Phillies Postmortem
- One last mess at McFadden’s
- Are the Phillies trying to lower expectations on free agency?
