The Phillies Finally Gave Up On Adam Haseley
Adam Haseley was supposed to represent the future. Everyone just seemed to forget that the future does not matter in the eyes of Dave Dombrowski. Love him, hate him, Dombrowski is always consistent. He does not like young players who need time to development. Haseley was the guy and Dombrowski and the Phillies brass finally gave up on him.
This isn’t anything new. I’m surprised Haseley lasted this long. Philadelphia already gave up on Spencer Howard. A former top pitching prospect that didn’t translate to the bigs right away. This is Dombrowski’s mentality. Young players that can’t help you today gotta go. Haseley was the latest of that group.
Dombrowski will eventually lead the Phillies down a similar path that Ruben Amaro took them. For the now, Haseley simply didn’t have room on the roster. Well, he did. Just not in Dombrowski’s eyes. The former Phillies young outfielder had two minor league options remaining. Even after adding Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, the Phillies did not have to give up on Haseley. This is the path they chose.
According to the great Jim Salisbury, the Phillies sent Haseley to the White Sox in exchange for right handed pitcher McKinley Moore. In a down White Sox farm system, Moore was ranked 27th. Moore is 23 years old and more recently was still in A ball. Those guys usually don’t make it which seems odd for that to be the return for a guy who was the former 8th overall pick in the 2017 Rule 4 Draft.
Haseley, 25, isn’t or shouldn’t be viewed as a worthless player. The 8th overall pick now seems really rich but Haseley has showed signs that he should be able to stick in the big leagues. Haseley has great splits against right-handed pitching putting together a slash line of 272/.331/.398. He’s also got some speed and an above average glove – 10 Defensive Runs Saved, 3.3 Ultimate Zone Rating, -1 Outs Above Average.
Of course, those numbers are a bit deceiving because Haseley hit just .190 in 21 at-bats in 2021. He also stepped away from the game citing personal reasons. A change of scenery may be just what the athletic lefty outfielder needs.
For Chicago, it’s a great gamble. Haseley isn’t free agent eligible until 2026 and that’s if he actually sticks on the White Sox roster from here on out. They can easily send him down with two options remaining. Haseley also adds a lefty bat to an outfield group in Chicago that doesn’t feature one.
This is the new Phillies. Dave Dombrowski won’t have it any other way. He’s won enough games for no one to question him. The Phillies better hope this trade works out because if Haseley even performs remotely well in Chicago, there should be riots in the street of Philadelphia. For the record, while I’m not over the moon about Haseley’s future, I do think he can carve a niche as a productive lefty 4th outfielder.
