Way back on April 25, Eric Seidman of the Brotherly Glove blog made an astute determination that the Phillies, having lost Jayson Werth months earlier to free agency, needed to bolster their outfield. Seidman wrote:

The outfield might be problematic right now, but any fix the Phillies implement must also take next year, and potentially the following year, into consideration. The Phillies should steer clear of outfielders reaching free agency after the season unless an extension can be worked out. Otherwise, the team would subsequently find itself right back at square one in terms of seeking outfield reinforcement.
The most optimal type of player is one under team control — meaning he cannot yet become a free agent and is instead eligible for salary arbitration — who produces at a level better than, or equivalent to, the incumbent crop of free agents.
After crunching the numbers — picture me with a green visor and an adding machine, or in a laboratory somewhere — I arrived at the conclusion titling this article. The player meeting all of the criteria, that made the most sense from the standpoints of cost, production and what it would take to acquire him, is Hunter Pence of the Houston Astros.

Fast forward three-odd months and, lo and behold, the first-place Phillies reportedly are on the verge of acquiring the 28-year-old outfielder in exchange for two highly regarded prospects, first baseman Jonathan Singleton and pitcher Jarred Cosart, and perhaps two other minor leaguers.

Going into this evening’s game against the Brewers in Milwaukee, Pence has posted a .309/.356/.472 BA/OBP/SLG line with a .365 wOBA.

EDIT: Seidman’s analysis of the completed trade may be found here.