‘You could be gone tomorrow’

Several Class-A Dunedin Blue Jays position players were on the field a few minutes ahead of batting practice on a scorching hot day in late July 2019 in central Florida, so the conversation stayed light.

One of Cal Stevenson’s teammates eventually responded to a joke by telling the franchise’s 10th-round pick from the previous year that he doesn’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, that he could be traded.

Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is July 31. It is in those days and weeks leading up to the deadline that franchises’ top prospects are moved to help acquire a major leaguer who can strengthen a team’s playoff chances.

Stevenson laughed at his teammate’s suggestion. So did his other teammates.

The next day, Stevenson in traded with pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagnini to the Astros for outfielder Derek Fisher.

Six years later, Stevenson is no longer a prospect. He is playing in Triple-A for the IronPigs and on the Phillies’ 40-man roster. He has had major league time with the Athletics, Giants and Phils. He is a 28-year-old veteran who provides insurance for the parent club.

Stevenson shares a clubhouse with a few prospects who will be rumored in trades until the deadline or until they are dealt.

It is the elephant in the room the next three-plus weeks.

“The older guys in the clubhouse have seen that side of it,” the California native said. “That eases things a little bit. We can help the younger guys, tell them that it could happen, that you could be gone.

“I don’t think they realize that. But stuff happens really fast and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Stevenson learned that first-hand. He was traded in 2019, 2020 and 2022. He was traded for cash early in 2023, put on waivers a month later and signed by the Phillies days after that.

The 28-year-old shares a clubhouse with a lot of players who have endured similar movement since turning pro. He also has a trio of teammates who are three of the Phillies’ top five ranked prospects: No. 1 Andrew Painter, No. 3 Justin Crawford and No. 5 Mick Abel.

Abel is the only one of the three who has spent time with the Phillies. He won his major league debut on May 18, beating 2024 National League rookie of the year Paul Skenes and the Pirates 1-0. The 23-year-old made six starts before being sent down to Triple-A earlier this month.

Painter is 13 starts into his return after missing the two previous seasons due to Tommy John surgery, the last nine with the IronPigs.

Crawford, son of former major leaguer Carl Crawford, leads the International League in batting average and hits.

Abel is rumored to be traded. Painter is rumored to be called up after the All-Star break. Crawford is rumored to be traded while fans clamor for him to be called up.

The only way any of this is brought up in the IronPigs’ clubhouse, training room, weight room or during pre-game drills and batting practice is how Stevenson first heard about it.

“There are more jokes about it than anything,” he said. “‘You could be gone next week.’” That kind of thing.

“The longer you’re in [the game], the more you understand the business side of it and so you don’t pay attention to it. This year, I just worry about myself on the field, how I can find ways to get better.”

That is the approach that the Phillies’ top prospects are also taking as the IronPigs work toward their first playoff appearance since 2018.

Painter was soaring through the organization’s lower levels in 2022, his first full pro season. He posted a 1.56 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in 22 starts with 155 strikeouts in 103 2/3 inning across three levels.

There was talk from the organization about him breaking spring training in 2023 with the Phillies if he continued on that trajectory. But he suffered a right elbow injury that spring.

Painter made six starts in the 2024 Arizona Fall League, then four more this spring for low-A Clearwater before moving up to Triple-A. He has a 4.57 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 10 starts with the IronPigs.

There has been progress, but the 6-foot-7 right-hander is not where he wants to be. So, instead of getting caught up in the web of trade and promotion speculation, Painter is embracing the challenge of getting to where he wants to be as a pitcher.

“I’m falling in love with the process,” he said after his start last Thursday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. “From start to start, I’m going to look at the negatives and be pretty harsh on myself.

“I’ll find those positives and what went wrong, why it went wrong. We’ll go through my last game, the sequencing, the decisions, the thought processes going into the at-bats. I’ll find things to work on during the week that make you feel better and find ways to get better each outing.”

The reality is that the Phillies are among MLB’s best teams but are flawed. They need bullpen help and an outfielder. That almost guarantees that the club will be active before the trade deadline.

That ensures that there will be jokes in the IronPigs clubhouse to ease the tension of what could be coming.

Lehigh Valley manager Anthony Contreras is a former minor league infielder who admittedly never had to worry about being the subject of trade speculation. He said that he will not address the trade rumors with any of his players, but they know he is there if anyone needs to talk about anything.

“I don’t want to open up a can of whatever and expose something that might not be there,” he said. “I don’t hear rumblings in the clubhouse. The guys are worrying about the game tonight. Subconsciously, it’s in the back of their heads, but I don’t need to bring any more pressure to it.

“Guys don’t want to be known as someone worrying about the trade deadline instead of the game. But they have earned the right and respect to be in those conversations because of how good they are.”

The trio of prospects sitting in Triple-A have stayed focused on what they are paid to do.

Crawford has an eight-game hitting streak entering Tuesday’s game at Syracuse, with at least two hits in five of those contests.

Painter issued only one walk in each of his last two starts and threw a career-high 95 pitches last Thursday against the RailRiders.

Abel bounced back from a 2024 season when he posted a 6.46 ERA in 24 starts with a 2.21 ERA in his first 10 outings this year with the IronPigs to earn a major league promotion.

But away from the field in the quiet of their apartments, outside noise may be creeping in. It would be human nature. It would be justified considering the organization they are in and their talent level.

“The Phillies have been in a really good spot to make a [playoff] run every year the last few years,” Stevenson said, “so they are going to make changes to make themselves better up there. You just have to go with the flow.”

Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com