The Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies have had discussions about potential trades between the two teams. The Royals have had a scout following Lehigh Valley and other teams in the Phillies organization. Starter Michael Wacha and outfielder Lane Thomas were the players that most interested the Phillies, but that door appears to have closed. The Royals have reportedly pulled Wacha off of the table and Saturday night they dealt Thomas, long a player that the Phillies liked, to the Atlanta Braves.
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The Phillies had explored trading for Thomas when he was a member of the Washington Nationals, but never pulled the trigger on a deal. They also kicked the tires on signing Thomas, 30, during the offseason when he was a free agent; He wound up with a one-year $5.25-million deal with the Royals.
Why the Phillies liked Thomas
Thomas is primarily a corner outfielder with left field being his primary spot. His defensive metrics are solid, but his calling card is what he can do against left-handers. This season he is slashing .263/.370/.430/.800 against lefties with four of his 10 home runs coming against them in 57 less at-bats against southpaws. For his career, he has hit .288/.361/.489/.850 with 29 home runs in 726 at-bats against left-handers.
The Phillies are looking for a right-handed outfield bat that hits lefties and Thomas would have perfectly fit that opening.
After a slow start to the season, Thomas has picked up the pace as the weather has warmed up. Coming into July he was hitting .217 with five home runs and 23 RBI. Over the last month though he hit five home runs and drove in 14 while slashing .255/.320/.500 for an .820 OPS.
Falter has faced injuries
The lefty, who is now 29, suffered a biceps injury late last season after the Royals acquired him from Pittsburgh. Like Thomas, he also struggled in the early going and allowed five earned runs in two relief outings covering 3.1 innings for a 13.50 ERA before going back on the IL with elbow inflammation. He returned to pitch in three games – two starts – in May but continued to struggle and was designated for assignment, cleared waivers, and was outrighted to Triple-A Omaha.
In seven starts and 10 relief appearances with the Storm Chasers, Falter is 2-1 with a 3.35 ERA. He has walked 20 and struck out 46 in 43 innings of work.
The Braves will have Falter stashed at Triple-A Gwinnett as insurance for either the rotation or as a left-handed reliever.
What the Braves gave up
Atlanta acquired Thomas and former Phillies left-hander Bailey Falter from the Royals for minor league pitchers Lucas Braun and Carter Holton. Braun, a right-hander, was the number eight prospect in the Braves organization according to MLB Pipeline and Holton, a left-hander, was not on the list of top 30 Braves prospects according to Pipeline. He was ranked 30th by Baseball America and 20th by FanGraphs.
Braun, 24, was drafted by Atlanta in the sixth round of the 2023 Draft and reached Triple-A Gwinnett for the first time this season where he posted a 3.53 ERA in 19 games, 17 of which were starts.
Holton, was drafted a year later in the second round but missed all of last season with an injury. The 23-year-old has since returned and has a 4.32 ERA in 10 games between the FCL and Low-A.
What would have been a comparable return from the Phillies?
Atlanta did not have to give up a whole lot in terms of prospects to acquire Thomas and Falter. By the way, Falter would have potentially been interesting since the Phillies need left-handed help in the bullpen. Not that he is a shutdown pitcher, but may have outmatched what the Phillies are getting right now from their left-handers.
Braun doesn’t have overpowering stuff but reached the upper minors thanks to a four-pitch mix and above-average control. Jean Cabrera is basically the Phillies’ version of that: a Double-A/Triple-A righty who leans on command and pitchability over velocity, with a fastball, changeup, and slider/sweeper mix. Both are ticketed for fifth-starter or swingman roles rather than anything flashier — solid, low-ceiling, high-probability arms.
Cabrera, 24, is a combined 4-6, 8.11 between Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Double-A Reading in 17 starts and one relief outing this season.
Holton is a lower-tier lefty, not universally ranked in Atlanta’s top 30. Current Clearwater reliever James Tallon fits that mold well — a tall, projectable lefty who works from a deceptive low arm slot, sits in a similar back-of-the-Phillies top-30 range, and is still raw and unproven at the upper levels. Both are “watch and see” prospects rather than sure things.
Tallon, 22, is 3-1 with a 10.59 ERA in 17 relief appearances with Clearwater in his first professional season.
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