The Phillies made a significant upgrade on trade deadline day, acquiring All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos from the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Phils are sending the Rays a player to be named later or cash. To make room on the 40-man roster, left-handed reliever Zac Curtis was waived.
The move was announced right at 3 p.m.
Ramos hasn't played since July 14 and is currently on the DL with a hamstring injury, though he's on the road back and was scheduled to catch a live bullpen session over the weekend. However, according to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, the Rays think Ramos is a few weeks away.
When he returns, Ramos represents a big-time offensive upgrade for the Phillies, perhaps the biggest they could make at this late stage of the trade window. The 30-year-old has hit .297/.346/.488 with 14 doubles, 14 homers and 53 RBI in 315 plate appearances. Phillies catchers have hit .244/.317/.393 with four fewer home runs and 85 more strikeouts.
Ramos has been an All-Star in two of the last three seasons, hitting .294 with an .821 OPS over that span. He's one of the few very good offensive catchers left in the game.
Behind the plate, Ramos has thrown out 31 percent of base stealers in his career, three percent better than the league average.
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Defense behind the plate has been a major issue for the Phillies, who have the most passed balls in the National League and the second-most wild pitches. They didn't arrive at those ranks by accident. Ramos is a more polished defensive catcher than either Jorge Alfaro or Andrew Knapp at this stage in their careers.
When Ramos is ready to return from the DL, Knapp could be the roster casualty because Alfaro is out of options, though it would be temporary with rosters expanding on Sept. 1. Knapp is 1 for his last 16 but has hit .284 with a .361 OBP over his last 83 plate appearances.
Ramos was by far Tampa Bay's most expensive player. He's owed about $3.5 million the rest of the season before becoming a free agent.
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