Well, the Phillies made a meaningful move ahead of the trade deadline.

The team will receive starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, reliever Ian Kennedy, and minor league pitcher Hans Crouse from the Texas Rangers in exchange for Spencer Howard and former second round pick Kevin Gowdy.

Jayson Stark of The Athletic reports the Rangers will also send the Phillies $4 million in the deal, keeping them under the tax threshold. I’m sure fans will delighted by this news.

You probably don’t need a deep explainer on why the Phillies did this deal. With Zach Eflin currently out, they currently have three holes in the starting rotation. The Phillies’ bullpen entered play Friday with a 4.57 ERA.

Gibson, who is 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA this season, has gone at least five innings in 18 of 19 starts this season, including 18 straight. If he can provide even average length, he will serve as a marked upgrade to the back of the Phillies’ rotation. Notably, he has another year on his deal at a reasonable $7.6 million, so he’s not a rental addition.


Gibson has struggled in two starts following the All-Star break, surrendering 10 earned runs, 14 hits and 10 walks over 11 innings. The Phillies aren’t exactly getting a guy who comes in “hot.”

Kennedy, who has a 2.51 ERA in 32 appearances this season, should provide the Phillies with a significant upgrade late in games. He’s striking out over a batter per inning and has walked just seven batters in 32 1/3 innings this season. He will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Rounding at the Phillies’ return is Crouse, a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher who posted a 3.29 ERA with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders this season. MLB.com ranks Crouse as the Rangers’ ninth-best minor league prospect.

As for the cost, well, they say you gotta give up something to get something, right?

The Phillies will part ways with their former top pitching prospect in Howard. Concerns about durability and maintaining velocity have plagued Howard since his Major League debut last summer. Still, the talent was visible, albeit only for short spurts — opponents hit .107 with a .331 OPS against Howard the first time through the order this season. That doesn’t happen by accident.

NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury reports Gowdy is part of the deal.

The Phillies still have substantial holes. From this perspective, an Eflin return still leaves them one arm short, unless they maintain that some combination of Vince Velasquez and Matt Moore will suffice. For what it’s worth, I don’t.

Cole Hamels remains a free agent. The team could also opt to stretch out Ranger Suárez and give him a go, although it will take some time to stretch him back out.

The Braves and Mets have also made aggressive moves today, so we’ll see if Dave Dombrowski has anything else up his sleeve with less than 30 minutes to go before the deadline.