The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to shake up a lineup whose offense has stagnated in the playoffs the last two seasons.
After being up three games to two against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLCS, the Phillies combined to score three runs in Games 6 and 7 at home to lose a chance to go back to the World Series. It was worse in 2024, as the offense only put up 12 runs — with seven coming in one game — and batted just .186 with a .597 OPS in a four-game NLDS loss to the New York Mets.
The Phillies have reportedly been dangling first-time All-Stars Alec Bohm and Ranger Suarez, and outfielder Nick Castellanos in trade talks. According to reports, the Phillies wanted stud Athletics’ reliever Mason Miller in return for Bohm and offered the third baseman along with Castellanos to the Houston Astros for Kyle Tucker. Those deals, obviously, were shut down.
The Phillies are looking to upgrade their outfield offense, as they finished 20th in OPS in center field and tied for 15th in OPS in left field.
With Tucker, Juan Soto, Tyler O’Neill, and Cody Bellinger off the board, and free agents Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernandez, and Jurickson Profar remaining unsigned, Phillies fans are getting restless despite plenty of time remaining in the offseason. In 2019, Bryce Harper didn’t sign with the Phillies until after Spring Training began.
If the Phillies don’t make a splashy offensive move, fans will be unnerved. But what do talent evaluators think?
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Talent evaluators reveal how they view Philadelphia Phillies if they don’t make big move
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber conducted an informal survey with five talent evaluators from opposing teams about how the Phillies will be viewed if they don’t make a big move. Their answers should satisfy some Phillies fans.
Evaluators say that the Phillies would remain among the best three teams in the National League, with three placing them second behind the World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.
“They are pretty firmly second behind the Dodgers, and they are closer to them than the third- and fourth-place teams are to the Phillies,” one NL evaluator told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Unless the Mets spend super-aggressively and the Padres land Roki [Sasaki], I don’t know how anyone leaps the Phillies and Dodgers.”
Another NL evaluator stated: “I think [the Phillies] are still in the top two. Dodgers still [have] the slight edge.”
The Phillies still have another 100 days to upgrade their offense, their fifth-starter spot, and possibly add another high-leverage bullpen arm. Despite the big signings and trades happening during the MLB winter meetings, that doesn’t mean the Phillies don’t have a plan moving forward.
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