Deadline trade targets: Relief pitchers

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Earlier we looked at all the potentially tradable centerfielders who hadn’t been addressed in the first three days of our Phillies trade target series. We’ll wrap things up with a similar look at bullpen pieces.

Luke Gregerson -- Padres

Rumored to be available for years, Gregerson is still with the Padres five years after debuting. He has a 2.92 career ERA, has struck out 9.1 batters per nine innings and walked just 2.7.

Year after year, Gregerson is one of the most effective late-inning relievers in the game. His success isn’t fluky. He throws sliders almost 65 percent of the time and they’re nearly impossible to hit. The pitch is loaded with movement, and Gregerson can spot it on the outside corner to righties with ease.

He’s the reliever who could help the Phillies the most.

Steve Cishek, Mike Dunn -- Marlins

Cishek, the funky, rail-thin closer for Miami is having another good year -- 3.24 ERA, 41 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings. He’s just 27 and under team control for several more seasons, so he’d be pretty expensive to acquire.

Dunn, a lefty specialist, will almost certainly be dealt. He’s pitched very well in three of the last four years and maintained a high strikeout rate. He’s not the ideal fit for the Phils, though, who could instead use a hard-throwing righty or an all-purpose reliever like Gregerson.

Jeremy Affeldt -- Giants

One of the most consistent relievers in the game, Affeldt is a lefty who retires hitters from both sides. But he’s expensive -- he’s due $10 million over the next two years. That kind of prices him out of the Phillies’ range given how much they have committed to Jonathan Papelbon and Mike Adams.

Tom Wilhelmsen -- Mariners

Nicknamed “Captain Hook” for his elite curveball, Wilhelmsen started out the year on fire, finishing May with 12 saves and a 0.75 ERA. Then he allowed 13 runs and 22 base runners over his next eight innings and lost his closer’s job.

Wilhelmsen is 29 and has a 3.06 ERA in 138 career games. He can help a contender and might be even more valuable to the Phils than Gregerson, because Wilhelmsen is under team control for four more years after this one, compared to Gregerson’s one.

That does, however, make Wilhelmsen much more expensive to acquire.

Glen Perkins -- Twins

Judging by Twitter, Phillies fans love the Twins closer. Why not? He has a 1.82 ERA and 47 punchouts in 34 2/3 innings.

But Minnesota seems intent on keeping Perkins, who is due $7.5 million over the next two years and has a $4.5 million team option for 2016. It would take a lot, and Perkins isn’t decidedly better than Wilhelmsen or Gregerson.

Fringe contenders

The Royals could deal one of their many flamethrowers -- Kelvin Herrera, Tim Collins, J.C. Gutierrez -- but would probably rather part ways with former first-round pick and failed starter Luke Hochevar, who has a 2.08 ERA in his first full year as a reliever.

It would be worth taking a flier on Hochevar, who can still throw in the mid-high 90s. The only problem is that he’s not battle-tested, as most of his outings this year have been in lower-leverage situations.

The Blue Jays will want to keep All-Stars Brett Cecil and Steve Delabar and closer Casey Janssen for a run next season, even if the trade value for at least two of them will never be higher.

The Rockies’ bullpen is stacked, with Rafael Betancourt, Rex Brothers, Adam Ottavino and Matt Belisle all likely on the market.

Betancourt, the closer, is the most proven and has experience in the eighth and ninth innings. Brothers, a lefty, is 25 and inexpensive, has a 0.91 ERA and won’t be dealt for anything less than a king’s ransom. Belisle was an elite setup man from 2010-12, and has pitched much better than his 4.47 ERA this season indicates. Ottavino has emerged this year as a quality relief arm.

Betancourt will likely be dealt. He’s due $4.25 million this season and has a mutual option for 2014 at the same amount. He is, however, probably the only reliever in baseball who takes more time in between pitches than Papelbon, and it's not even close. 

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