Dombrowski dishes on trades Phils made at Deadline

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Phillies made four trades before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline:

Acquired: Orioles outfielder Austin Hays, Angels closer Carlos Estévez, White Sox left-hander Tanner Banks and Orioles pitching prospects Seth Johnson and Moisés Chace.

Traded: Gregory Soto, Seranthony Domínguez, Cristian Pache and prospects George Klassen, William Bergolla and Samuel Aldegheri.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski talked at length about Hays on Friday and Estévez on Saturday. Here is some of what he said about the Banks and Soto trades on Tuesday.

Why is Banks a fit?
Dombrowski: We’ve liked Banks for a long time. Our people have pushed for him. We like his stuff. He’s really been effective vs. left-handed hitters this year. He’s been one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball in that regard. So we thought he was a better fit for our 'pen at this time than Soto was.

What did you like about Seth Johnson, who is the Phillies’ No. 10 prospect?
Dombrowski: He’s coming off of surgery a couple years ago. So, he’s bouncing back from Tommy John. He was a high pick. He was the 40th pick in the Draft at one time (2019). He had a high pedigree coming out of college. So he’s got good stuff. He throws in the mid-90s. He’s a good, solid pitcher. He’s been more limited in the innings that he’s thrown, but he is a starting pitcher and we project him to be a starting pitcher in the future.

What about Moisés Chace, who is the Phillies’ No. 25 prospect?
Dombrowski: Great arm, great arm. A developing pitcher. We just saw him pitch a couple days ago against our (High-A) Jersey Shore club and he threw the ball really well. He’s pitched exceptionally well recently. A really good arm with starter potential.

Why didn’t Soto work here?
Dombrowski: He pitched overall OK when you look at his numbers. We didn't necessarily get him as a closer. I think a lot of times he envisions himself as a closer, which is fine. He's done fine for us by all means. We weren't dissatisfied with him. But the way we use our 'pen, I'm just not sure there ever was a way that he felt comfortable in that regard.

How protective were you of your top prospects?
Dombrowski: We have some guys I really didn't want to trade. They're our upper-echelon guys. And that's why I am absolutely thrilled we made the moves that we made. I know we gave up some talent, but we also have those guys and (No. 4 prospect Starlyn) Caba and some other guys we're extremely high on. We feel like we really have a good ballclub and our farm system continues to get better.

What about the high prices for relievers?
Dombrowski: In some ways, what it's showing you, right now the emphasis on getting into the postseason is you almost always need a reliever. Almost everybody can get better in the bullpen, right? So it's a seller's market at this point. It's really changed in that regard. Everybody looks like they're looking for them. We have one of the best bullpens in baseball and we were looking for them. San Diego had a good, solid bullpen and they got two of them. So it just shows you. It's much different. There is a high price on it. A lot of that is because of the number of clubs that are competing to try to get into the postseason. They're trying to do any little thing that they can to make themselves better.