A Bleak Mid-Winter for Philly?

It is no secret that the Phillies roster as it stands currently has quite a few holes to fill before the team can even consider competing for the division this year. This was apparent at the end of last season, let alone after the recent big-name signings this past week. The Mets acquired arguably the best shortstop in the league with Francisco Lindor, along with adding Carlos Carrasco to an already loaded pitching staff led by Jacob deGrom who many would consider the best pitcher in the league, all while seemingly staying in the hunt for the remaining big free agent names. The Nationals, who will be just two seasons removed from a World Series championship have already gone out and bolstered their lineup with the additions of Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber, who despite both having somewhat down seasons last year bring some serious pop to a lineup that was already anchored by a couple of young studs in Juan Soto and Trea Turner, not to mention an impressive pitching staff of their own. As for the Braves and Marlins, they have been fairly quiet this off-season, however Atlanta already has no shortage of talent, and the Marlins for some reason seem to always get the best of the Phillies as they’ve won 7 of the last 10 meetings.

So, let’s start with the obvious name that’s on everyone’s mind, JT Realmuto. He’s the best catcher in baseball, and there’s really not much else to it than that. If that’s not enough of a convincer for you, how about keeping the face of your franchise happy? Yes, Bryce Harper who some of you may recall being given one of the largest contracts in all of baseball just a couple years back has pleaded with the organization over the past year to keep Realmuto in Philadelphia. So not only would you be letting the best player at a position we’re desperately thin at (sorry Andrew Knapp, we just don’t want to see you behind the dish all season), but you’re also driving a potential wedge between the front office and the face of your franchise in Harper. If that doesn’t scare you, feel free to do a quick google search of Deshaun Watson’s current relationship with the Texan’s after they neglected to consider his recommendations during their search for a new GM.

Now that the obvious is out of the way, let’s talk about another member of the Phillies that nobody seems to be acknowledging is a free agent, Didi Gregorious. Not only does he fill out the infield (who knows what the plan is for Scott Kingery), but he was also one of the more valuable bats this past season. He finished the season batting .284, which was second only to Alec Bohm, 10 HRs which was tied with Hoskins for third most on the team behind none other than Bryce Harper and JT Realmuto (hmm, imagine that). Lastly, Didi led the team in RBI’s with 40. He took a one year, $14 million contract with us last season as he looked to bounce back from his injury riddled last season with the Yankees, so he’ll likely be looking to cash in a bit more with his next contract. However, given that last year was cut short, many teams may still have some concerns with him playing a full season, which means it’s possible we may be able to keep him around for a bit longer depending on how the FA market ends up being with fellow shortstop Marcus Semian likely drawing most of the attention at the position for now.

All of that, and we are still not at the root of the Phillies problems. Yes, the bullpen. Coming off a season where no lead was safe, the bullpen finished with 14 blown saves as the Phillies ended the season in 3rd place in the NL East, 7.0 games out of first place. If the Phillies aren’t going to resign either JT or Didi, there’s no reason to not be shifting your full focus on getting Brad Hand. The 31-year-old lefty who in 22 innings pitched last year finished with a 2.05 ERA, 29 strikeouts and picked up 6 saves for Cleveland as well. Not only would Hand be instrumental in helping the Phil’s close out tight games, but he’s also lefty, which the team still currently has very few of despite recently acquiring Jose Alvarado from the Rays. Speaking of left-handed pitchers, another name that stands out is Carlos Rodon. The 28-year-old is coming off a tough year with the Whitesox and currently has a career record of 29-33 with a 4.14 ERA. Not exactly eye-popping numbers, but he has shown potential, and even if you don’t feel he’d be able to overtake Vince Velasquez in the starting rotation, he could still eat innings out of the bullpen. With that being said, it’s fair to say there’s a lot of worry this offseason, but there’s certainly no shortage of options when it comes to moves the front office can make, whether it be keeping our current stars, strengthening the bullpen, hey, maybe it’s even time for a Cole Hammels reunion, whatever the case may be, the front office will need to stay active if the team is going to be able to compete for the division with a full 162 game season again.