Phillies Free Agency: 5 moves to consider before Spring Training gets underway

After the past few years where the Philadelphia Phillies have shown a willingness to spend “stupid money”, the 2024 offseason has to date, been pretty underwhelming. While catching a “big fish” isn’t realistic every offseason, an attempt to fill some of the bigger holes on the Phillies roster was expected and Dave Dombrowski has yet to do so. 

The Phillies headline move, and will likely be the team’s biggest move of the offseason, was signing Aaron Nola to a seven-year $172 million contract early into free agency. 

The team more recently inked left-handed reliever and former 15th overall pick in the 2015 draft (Braves), Kolby Allard, to a one-year deal. Aside from Nola and Allard, the team has not made any significant roster moves, with Allard being the only MLB roster addition. 

The Phillies have made smaller moves, however, coming to terms with LHPs Gregory Soto and Ranger Suarez, as well as RHP Jeff Hoffman and INF Edmundo Sosa for the 2024 season. With pitchers and catchers reporting to Clearwater, FL. On Feb. 14th, and the rest of the squad following on Feb. 19th, the Phillies are running out of time to fill some of these roster gaps before it gets too late. 

Being a team that was one win shy of their second World Series appearance in as many years, the Phillies have shown that they are in “win-now mode,” and need to make some moves to fill in the roster. 

Here is what the Phillies should do. 

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Bolster the Bullpen

The Phillies bullpen has not been their strong suit. Their starting pitching can only get them so far, and the Phillies need some reliable options for the later innings. At this point in free agency, there are not a whole lot of great options available, with Liam Hendriks (RHP) and Aaron Loup (LHP) being among the top, and I don’t see Dombrowski and company jumping for them. 

Instead, I see them looking for a trade partner.

With no “elite” relief pitchers being available on the trade market this early in the year, it would be smart to look at teams that don’t have playoff aspirations. The Washington Nationals could be a suitable partner, with Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey being amongst the top arms available. 

Between the two, Harvey is the best option, as he is just 29 years old, and is set to make just $2.3 million in 2024, per Spotrac. Harvey also has a year of team control left. The right-hander posted a 2.82 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 10.1 K/9. Acquiring Harvey with a low to mid-level prospect and could be a realistic option for the Phillies.

Get a Right-Handed Bench Bat

Among some of the better free agents available, Jorge Soler is one of the best. The Phillies could benefit from a right-handed power bat off the bench, or even to platoon in the outfield. 

Soler hit .250 last season with 36 home runs. While he may not be looking for a bench role, the Phillies have a crowded outfield, but could make room for the power-hitter.

Jorge Soler (34)

Opponent: Washington Nationals
Pitcher: Jordan Weems
Date: 8/26/23 pic.twitter.com/Gcjjx6PfYo

— Marlins Home Runs (@MIA_Homers) January 29, 2024

However, the RF/DH turns 32 at the end of the month, so a one-year low-value deal may not be on the table. 

That makes me look at some of the older, more one-year deal-friendly players available, and one name pops out at me, Adam Duvall. He has shown his willingness to take one-year contracts, and more importantly, come off the bench. Being 35, he may be taking one-year deals until he decides to hang up the spikes. 

He hit .247 with 21 homers last season for Boston and could be a viable, yet cheap option for Philadelphia this coming season.

Extend Zack Wheeler

Zack Wheeler is entering the final year of the five-year contract he signed with the Phillies in 2020. Extending him needs to be a priority in the Philadelphia front office. He has been every bit off an ace as expected, and deserves a chance to finish out his career in Philly. 

Since signing in Philly in 2020, Wheeler only had one season where he posted an ERA over 2.92, which came in last year’s “down season.” He exceeded all expectations when he came here, as he never posted an ERA lower than 3.31 with the Mets.

Talking numbers, Wheeler will be 35 in the 2025 season, so the length would be tricky. A three-year deal would bring Wheeler to his age 38 season as his next opportunity to be a free agent, and unless he is still producing, that may be time to let the youth take over.

You have to remember the Phillies have Andrew Painter, Mick Abel, and Griff McGarry waiting for their call to the show. It’s rare to hit on three pitching prospects at the same time, but all three have shown a lot of promise, and that needs to be considered when extending Wheels.

I would give Wheeler a very similar AAV as he is earning now, with a three-year, $70-75 million extension. 

Get a Lefty Starter in Free Agency

There are several things the Phillies can do with their rotation. For now, three players have a spot; Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Ranger Suarez. 

Everything else is sort of up in the air. You still have Taijuan Walker, and as I mentioned previously, the Phillies have three prospects patiently waiting for the call. 

If the Phils were to add a left-handed starter to their rotation, it would likely be via free agency. The two remaining premier starters, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, are both lefties. 

The Phillies have been linked to both, but Snell was more of an “in case we don’t keep Nola” option. Snell is now way too expensive, with Jon Heyman reporting Snell wants more than $30 million a year on a long-term deal. That is not happening for the Phillies. 

Then you look at Jordan Montgomery. His process has been quiet, and not much has come out about interest and price since early January when Scott Miller of the New York Times reported that Montgomery wanted a deal north of the six-year, $162 million deal Carlos Rodon got last offseason. He has been stellar since being traded away from the Yankees in 2022, but the sample size is small compared to Snell, who has been dominant most of his career. 

Even then, players tend to go by their recent seasons in terms of their asking price, so unless he is willing to make one more stop before he finds his long-term home, Montgomery and the Phillies may not be a match.

That leaves me with Hyun Jin Ryu. His stellar final two seasons with the Dodgers in 2018-19 landed him a big deal with the Blue Jays, where in all honesty, it did not come close to expectations. 

He could be a good one-year, low-contract pitcher who could also be expendable if one of the big three pitching prospects is ready. But for the time being, he could fill the need for a lefty in the rotation. 

Outfield Help

Let me ask you a question, do you trust a Castellanos-Rojas-Marsh outfield?

Defensively, absolutely, but at the plate, definitely not. 

Castellanos has been very good for the Phillies, and is becoming more and more comfortable with the team, he is not the issue. Brandon Marsh is still coming around to hitting left-handed pitchers, but until then he is not an “everyday” outfielder in the eyes of Rob Thomson. 

That leaves us with Johan Rojas. He is fun, he is fast, but can’t really hit. That comes with time, and yeah he was definitely rushed a bit, but he did not come close to earning a spot on the MLB roster this season. 

There are options like Jurickson Profar, Kike Hernandez, and Eddie Rosario who are all still unsigned, but none of them seem much different than Rojas or Christian Pache. 

This is where, if I am the Phillies, I go for a “big fish”. Get a player that will make a noticeable impact. To me, that is Cody Bellinger. This makes sense to me for a few reasons. 

First, that sweet lefty swing at Citizens Bank Park is a match made in heaven. He is being listed now as a CF, which would just move the Rojas-Marsh platoon to LF, which again, keeps the outfield great defensively, but also adds a whole lot more pop at the plate. 

He also has a lot of experience as a first baseman, and just in case the Bryce Harper experiment at first flops this season, you don’t have to fall on Darick Hall to play the position, you can then just swap Bryce and Cody. 

Looking beyond this season, Kyle Schwarber has two years remaining on his deal, Castellanos has three. They will both be around for the next two seasons, but both players’ names have popped up in trade conversations from time to time.

Bellinger is reportedly looking for north of $200 million according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. That is of course over a long-term deal, but that still could be a bit more expensive than the Phillies can afford right now. If the Phillies can find a way to make it work, Bellinger may just be the player to get them over the hump.

Something to Monitor:

Several executives think the Phillies could be considered a “sleeper” for both Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bellinger.

Mandatory Credit: Photo from Brynn Anderson of the Associated Press