Will the Phillies finally land the “big fish?”

The rumors are once again swirling that the Phils have cast their fishing lines to land Angels outfielder Mike Trout. For about the past 10 years, Trout has been rumored to return East to Philly, just across the bridge from his South Jersey roots.

With his best and healthiest season since 2022, Trout is supposedly on the block with the Angels expected to rebuild. Trout has 11 homers, 23 RBIs, a .248 average, a .414 OBP and a .932 OPS. He belted 40 homers with 80 RBIs and hit .283 in 2022, but followed that with two injury-plagued seasons in which he played fewer than 100 games.

Trout rebounded with a 25-homer, 64-RBI, .232 season last year.

At age 34, it’s questionable how many productive years Trout has left. He is making $37 million and has four more years left on his deal.

The Phillies have been looking for a consistent bat in their lineup since Rhys Hoskins left. Adolis Garcia was supposed to be the solution this year, but he hasn’t been consistent and has 40 strikeouts in 155 at-bats. Trout has 42 strikeouts in 135 at-bats this season.

If the Phils pulled the trigger, Garcia could be part of the deal, or he could shift to left field and platoon with Brandon Marsh. Getting Trout would add to an already aging core of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto, and the window to win would be a small one.

The lone stumbling block could be Trout’s loyalty to the Angels, as he has expressed a desire to finish his career there.

However, the Dodgers and Yankees also would likely be in the hunt for Trout. Los Angeles isn’t afraid to open its checkbook, and another enticement could be a reunion with Shohei Ohtani. The Yankees also would like another right-handed bat.

It’s likely a longshot, but Dave Dombrowski may want to shake up the season by landing a big fish.

Needs A Thicker Coat ... Andrew Painter’s 1-4 start with a 5.89 ERA is beginning to be heavily scrutinized. In reality, though, this shouldn’t be surprising. Expecting a rookie with one year of Triple-A experience to be your fifth starter can be a reach.

Statistically, Painter is throwing first-pitch strikes only 55% of the time, and opposing hitters are batting .348 against his fastball. In his recent outing against the A’s, Painter allowed three homers on two-strike fastballs.

Since his impressive debut, Painter has allowed 40 hits and six homers, while striking out 22 and walking 11 over 26 1/3 innings. His longest outing has been 5 2/3 innings, and his ERA is 7.06.

With the release of Taijuan Walker, the Phils don’t have an extra starter, and there is no one at Lehigh Valley ready to help.

So Dombrowski likely will stay the course with Painter, at least until the trade deadline. The Phils recently claimed right-hander Grant Holman off waivers from the Tigers and assigned him to Lehigh Valley. Holman has only two starts in his 40-game career.

Former Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer, who was banned following sexual assault allegations, has been thriving with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. Desperate to get back to the majors, Bauer has intimated that he would play for free.

Is Bauer an option for the Phils?

Quick Quiz ... Who was the Phillies’ rookie left-hander in their 1975 rotation who won 14 games?

Plead The Fifth ... Remember who would have been the Phillies’ fifth starter? Ranger Suarez will start Thursday for the Red Sox against the Phillies in a three-game series that begins Tuesday in Boston. Battling injuries this season, Suarez is 2-2 with a 2.77 ERA over seven starts.

Dombrowski surely must have some regrets about not re-signing Suarez and keeping Walker. But Dombrowski seems steadfast in keeping Painter in the rotation until things really unravel.

There’s not much on the free-agent market with Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, former Phillie Spencer Turnbull and 42-year-old Charlie Morton available.

Gabe Wood is the hot prospect, but he is 0-2 with a 3.63 ERA at Single-A Clearwater.

Worth The Price? ... Kyle Tucker inked a $50 million-per-year deal with the Dodgers, and Bo Bichette came in at $43 million with the Mets.

Are they worth the price?

Tucker is hitting .248 with four homers and 20 RBIs, while Bichette is batting .226 with two homers and 16 RBIs.

Other high-priced free agents include the Yankees’ Cody Bellinger ($36.5 million), who is hitting .292 with five homers and 25 RBIs; the Orioles’ Pete Alonso ($31 million), who has a .214 average, eight homers and 22 RBIs; the Cubs’ Alex Bregman ($35 million); and Toronto’s Dylan Cease ($35 million), who is 3-1 with a 2.58 ERA.

Bregman is overpaid, but he would have looked good in the Phillies’ lineup at a lower price.

Mr. Jones ... Highly touted Spencer Jones made his debut Friday in Milwaukee and struck out four times in his first five at-bats. He did pick up his first hit and RBI on Sunday.

In 33 games at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Jones hit 11 homers with 41 RBIs and a .258 average. He had 46 strikeouts in 120 at-bats. Jones also had a 32% strikeout rate and a 43% swing-and-miss rate.

In his first season with the Yankees, Aaron Judge had 40 strikeouts in his first 80 at-bats.

Soto Nogo ... Juan Soto was off to a hot start, hitting .381 in March and .324 in April. But Soto entered Sunday hitting .133 in May, with two hits in his last 18 at-bats. Soto has four homers and just 10 RBIs. He noticeably has been popping up lately.

But the Mets have won two of their last three series.

Sosa Salsa ... In a recent Times News Facebook poll, the question was posed whether Edmundo Sosa should receive more playing time at second and third base, especially with Alec Bohm’s struggles.

Well, 70% of voters would like to see Sosa in the field, while 30% would not. Sosa, who got a start in center field Saturday, was hitting .258 with a homer and 11 RBIs. However, Bohm and Bryson Stott have better power numbers.

Bohm may be on the rebound after a two-homer, three-hit, four-RBI game Saturday. He entered the game hitting .159 and raised it to .177. He added a hit and an RBI Sunday to bump his average to .180.

Manager Don Mattingly has given Bohm days off to try to cure his hitting woes, and maybe it is working.

Quick Quiz Answer ... Tommy Underwood went 14-14 with a 4.14 ERA in 35 starts and threw seven complete games.

Cubby-Hole ... Aside from the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees and Padres starts, the hottest team may be the Cubs, who have primarily flown under the radar.

They have a pair of 10-game winning streaks and a solid lineup that, ironically, doesn’t have a .300 hitter.

Starter Cade Horton is done for the season, and fellow starters Matthew Boyd and Justin Steele will be back after the All-Star break. Yet their staff, led by Shota Imanaga, has a respectable 3.82 ERA.

Scrapbook ... In each column, I will look back at a former stellar diamond player from our area.

Tyler Hill was a standout left-hander for Lehighton. In his senior season, the team captain hit .311 with one homer and 19 RBIs. On the mound, Hill went 3-3 with 55 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings and posted a 3.56 ERA. Lehighton finished 12-10 overall and was eliminated in the opening round of districts.

Hill continued his career at Bloomsburg University, where he went 13-7 with a 3.97 ERA and had 106 strikeouts in 136 innings over 17 starts and 43 games. Hill’s best season was his junior year, when he went 6-3 with a 3.18 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 56 innings over nine starts.

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