Friday marks the trade deadline in Major League Baseball. And the Phillies, assuming they fancy themselves as contenders (whether or not they should is up for debate), clearly should be looking to trade for pitching help.
But with or without pitching help, the season continues. The Phillies will travel to Pittsburgh to take on one of the worst teams in baseball. Will they take advantage? That may depend on how well their “starting pitchers” perform.
Record: 38-64 (Fifth place in National League Central)
The manager
Derek Shelton is in his second year as Pirates manager, and because the team is losing so spectacularly, he probably won’t last much longer.