Can the Phillies get over the hump? Targets, trade chips with Philadelphia still looking for World Series ring

The Philadelphia Phillies have grown into a force over the course of the last half-decade or so. In 2021, they had their first winning record since 2011 and then they started making the playoffs on an annual basis. We’ve seen the Phillies win 87, 90, 95 and 96 games, respectively, in the last four seasons. They’ve won the NL East two straight years. 

While that looks like progress, the postseason performances have gone backward. They were a surprise World Series team in 2022 and then had a 3-2 lead in the 2023 NLCS before losing that series. They’ve now lost two straight NLDS. 

The goal moving forward is, obviously, to continue the winning ways in the regular season while finding a way to get deep into the postseason again and then, ultimately, win the World Series. A good foundation remains, but the Phillies are facing the possibility of losing free agents Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suárez and J.T. Realmuto, among others. 

Needs

There’s an argument to be made that the Phillies should run it back. They just won 96 games and though they lost the NLDS in four games, they hung with the eventual World Series champion. This was done without their ace, Zack Wheeler. As such, if you look at those key free agents from above, it’s pretty obvious where to start. 

First off, the Phillies don’t really have a designated hitter right now. Their catching situation appears to be a tandem of Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs. That’s not going to cut it. The outfielders right now are Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, Weston Wilson, Otto Kemp and Justin Crawford.

Crawford has promise and it couldn’t hurt to give Kemp an extended look. The flip side of that is the Phillies could be looking to get rid of Castellanos. The outfield looks weak and in transition. 

At least the infield looks set. 

The bullpen with Jhoan Duran, Matt Strahm, José Alvarado and Orion Kerkering anchoring things seems to be in good shape.  

The rotation has Cristopher Sánchez as a co-ace with Wheeler followed by Jesús Luzardo and Aaron Nola. Taijuan Walker could try and hold down the fifth spot. It’s probably, finally, time for Andrew Painter to get his look, but it couldn’t hurt for a little more depth. 

Basically, a DH, a catcher, an outfielder or two and rotation depth are the needs. 

Possible targets

The easy start here is with Schwarber and Realmuto. If the Phillies bring both back — and it sounds like they have every intention of at least trying to do so — things look a lot more favorable. 

If they are looking to make a splash from outside the organization, Kyle Tucker is the biggest there is. He’s a great fit here in that there’s no one really, firmly, in the way in right field and we know the Phillies aren’t shy about spending huge on free agents. Also keep in mind that Bryce Harper is 33, Trea Turner is 32 and, if they bring either back, Schwarber is 32 and Realmuto is 34. Tucker is 28 and young enough to be the next centerpiece after the Harper-Turner core.

If Tucker isn’t landed and the Phillies want to make another splash, they could sign Alex Bregman. Yes, they have a third baseman already, but we’ll get to Mr. Bohm in the trade chips section below. Bregman is 31 and still a very good all-around player who has done plenty of winning.

If Realmuto doesn’t come back, there’s a chance the Orioles could part with All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman. He hasn’t hit for a year and a half and is starting to get expensive while the Orioles already started massaging Samuel Basallo into the lineup late last season. Perhaps a move would jar something loose with Rutschman’s offense.

Speaking of the trade market and the AL East, Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran was rumored to be on the trade block last summer and they have a ton of outfielders. Maybe something here could work.

If not, the Phillies could always re-sign Harrison Bader. He seems really comfortable with the ballclub after they acquired him in front of the trade deadline last season.

Some depth options at starting pitcher to help alleviate any concerns about Wheeler returning from his blood clot in addition to Painter being a rookie and not wanting Walker in the rotation long term: Nick Martinez, Chris Bassitt, José Quintana, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Walker Buehler. This isn’t an exhaustive list, just an idea of the type of pitcher they could shoot for. 

Possible trade chips 

As noted above, Castellanos will be dangled on the trade block. There’s one year and $20 million left on the deal and the Phillies will have to pay a bunch of that just to rid themselves of him. But he hit .250/.294/.400 (88 OPS+) with -0.8 WAR last season. It’s addition by subtraction. They won’t get much in return other than some salary relief and clearing a spot on the roster, but it needs to happen.

Also, though I noted the infield was set, there’s a chance the Phillies look to deal Alec Bohm, just as they did last offseason. Bohm is an adequate player who could help some team out there, but there shouldn’t be an issue with clearing him from the roster. They could either find more playing time for Edmundo Sosa, open things up for top infield prospect Aidan Miller or go after a big splash like Bregman. 

As always with Dave Dombrowski teams coming off playoff years, most of the prospects are also possible trade chips. The window to win the World Series remains open, as long as a good offseason fills those aforementioned holes. This is no time to cling to a bunch of Class A players instead of going for it.