The Phillies begin the second half of the regular season within striking distance of the NL East’s top spot. With a decent 10-14 day stretch, they will probably be buyers at the trade deadline, even if they go shopping in the discount aisle.

With the trade deadline on everybody’s radar, that brings us to the Mount Rushmore of Philadelphia trade deadline deals.

Could we have waited a week or two to do this one? Absolutely. But if the Phillies fall flat on their faces over the next week, the topic loses some of its juice, so we’re going to play it safe and roll with it now.

For the purposes of this week’s exercise, we’ll go with each team’s best move.

Phillies: Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Lou Marson, and Jason Donald

There was some debate between panel members over this one. I could make an argument for the 2008 Joe Blanton trade. After coming to Philly from Oakland, Blanton went 4-0 in 13 regular season starts down the stretch, started three postseason wins, hit a World Series homer, and made 60 total starts for the Phillies between 2009 and 2010.

Pretty good.

But the nod here goes to the 2009 Cliff Lee deal. After coming from Cleveland, Lee went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 regular season starts for the Phillies, setting the stage for one of the most dominant postseason pitching performances of all-time.

In five postseason starts the year, Lee went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in 40 1/3 innings. That, by the way, is an average of over eight innings per start. Although the 2009 team ultimately fell short, his efforts helped push the Phillies to within two wins of a second straight World Series title.

The deal also helped pave the way for a reunion prior to the 2011 season that saw Lee go 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA in 32 starts for a team that won 102 games.

The Ben Francisco part of the deal wasn’t quite as memorable, although his Game 3 homer in the 2011 NLDS would have been an all-timer had the Phillies not went on to soil themselves in the next two games.

Eagles: Jay Ajayi for a Fourth-Round Pick

There aren’t too many Eagles trade deadline deals from which to choose, but their swap of a mid-round draft pick for Jay Ajayi in 2017 helped bring the franchise its only Super Bowl win, so it wins for us.  Ajayi had 70 carries for 408 yards (5.8 ypc) down the stretch that season. He also tallied 254 yards from scrimmage during the Eagles’ postseason run.

The Dolphins correctly evaluated there wasn’t much left in the running back’s tank beyond 2017, but the immediate payoff for the Eagles was more than worth it.

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Flyers: Mark Recchi and a Third-Round for Eric Desjardins, John LeClair and Gilbert Dionne

This is where things get a bit dicey. This trade happened almost two months before the 1995 NHL trade deadline, but Kyle (remember him?) was adamant about it going on this week’s Mount Rushmore –and for good reason.

John LeClair played 10 seasons for the Flyers, racking up 333 goals and 310 assists, while Eric Desjardins became one of greatest defenseman in team history.

 

Sixers: Wilt Chamberlain for Connie Dierking, Paul Neumann, Lee Schaffer, and Cash

The Sixers’ 2001 deadline deal for Dikembe Mutombo helped solidify a pressing need for an elite interior presence and helped propel a run to the NBA Finals. If we’re going strictly on deadline deals, this one probably wins.

But, if the LeClair/Desjardins deal wins it for the Flyers, how do we leave off the 1965 in-season trade (there was no deadline that season) for Wilt Chamberlain?

In four seasons with the Sixers, Chamberlain averaged 27.6 points and 23.9 rebounds per game, won league MVP three times, and led the team to an NBA title