Revisiting the Brandon Marsh trade

The Los Angeles Angels made two separate trades with the Philadelphia Phillies at the deadline. One of them was sending Noah Syndergaard to Philadelphia in exchange for Mickey Moniak and Jadiel Sanchez. Syndergaard is hitting free agency after the season so the Angels just tried to get whatever they could for him as they were going nowhere this season. Moniak does have some upside as a former number-one overall pick.

The big trade between the clubs was the Angels sending Brandon Marsh to the Phillies in exchange for top prospect Logan O'Hoppe. The Angels were giving up on Marsh, a guy who wasn't hitting at all with the Angels, in exchange for a highly-ranked catching prospect in O'Hoppe.

This trade worked out perfectly for both sides.

Looking at this deal from Philadelphia's perspective, they have arguably the best catcher in baseball in J.T. Realmuto locked up through the 2025 season. They had no need for O'Hoppe as they have their catcher already.

What the Phillies did need desperately was a center fielder who could play defense. The Phillies were running out guys like Odubel Herrera and Matt Vierling in center field. They needed an upgrade. While Marsh can be frustrating to watch at times at the plate, he's an excellent defender. He was in the 94th percentile in outs above average according to baseball savant. With Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos at the corners, the Phillies need a guy like that in center field. Marsh is now their center fielder of the future.

As a bonus, Marsh started to hit much better after the trade. He slashed .288/.319/.455 with three home runs and 15 RBI in 41 regular season games played as a Phillie. He also cut his strikeout rate down from 36.2% as an Angel to 29.7% in Philadelphia.

Marsh came up big a couple of times in the postseason as well hitting home runs that helped the Phillies advance to the NLCS and also win a World Series game.

The Angels could use Marsh and his elite glove in left field but he's much more valuable in center field and the Angels, of course, are all set there. He was a very moveable piece for the right price.

Logan O'Hoppe is the right price. The Angels acquired their catcher of the future. He's the number one prospect in the franchise and is ranked as the 64th best in all of baseball according to mlb.com.

O'Hoppe has the potential to be one of the game's best offensive catchers in a couple of years. Hopefully, he will start this season on the roster and show the world why the Angels traded for him.

The Angels did not have a pressing need for Brandon Marsh to remain an Angel and now have their catcher of the future as a result of it. The Phillies did not need a catching prospect with Realmuto on their roster and they now have their center fielder of the future.

The Angels in my opinion got the player with more potential in O'Hoppe but both teams filled big needs with this trade.