Five Potential Philadelphia Phillies Free Agent Targets
The Phillies made headlines early in the offseason by re-signing Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract, securing the top of their rotation for years to come. With the 2023 season now officially behind them, the Phillies made waves. Other than that, by their own standards, Philadelphia’s free agency has been rather quiet.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani have inked a 10-year, $700 million megadeal, kicking off the MLB free agency market. Many more dominoes are expected to fall in the upcoming weeks. Here are five free agent prospects that the Philadelphia Phillies might be interested in this year.
Derek Law would add much-needed depth and consistency to the Phillies bullpen, even though he isn’t a particularly flashy addition. The team is anticipated to contend in 2024. With the Cincinnati Reds in 2023, Law pitched well, going 54 games with a 3.60 ERA. Law’s problem was walks; he averaged 4.3 walks per nine innings. However, if he can continue to limit his hits and home runs in 2024, he could be a valuable addition to the Phillies bullpen and relieve some of Seranthony Dominguez’s and Jose Alvarado’s workload in the late innings.
Kevin Pillar is another outfield option the Phillies could use. The Phillies won’t spend a fortune on outside free agents because of their disagreement with the luxury tax. Pillar gives the team an additional bench bat with respectable pop. In just 81 games (18 over the course of the entire 162-game season), Pillar finished last season with nine home runs. He has five career seasons with ten or more home runs. With Bryce Harper moving to first base full-time and Kyle Schwarber to DH, Pillar, 34, could be a late-inning outfield bat for the Phillies and serve as a mentor for Johan Rojas and Cristian Pache.
Michael Taylor (no, not that Michael Taylor) is a familiar face in the NL East that the Phillies could sign in an effort to increase the depth of their outfield. Taylor played for the Washington Nationals for seven seasons in the division, hitting 53 home runs and stealing 77 bases in 574 games. With 21 home runs in 2023 for the Minnesota Twins, he displayed a surge in power and demonstrated his ability to play above-average defense (winning the Gold Glove in 2021). The Phillies could capitalize on Taylor’s 2023 offensive output and form a strong centerfield platoon with two above-average defenders who can cover space and make plays with both their glove and their arm, especially with Johan Rojas having trouble at the plate during the postseason.
Having played in red pinstripes for the first eight years of his career, Hector Neris is a well-known figure in Philadelphia. Despite a roller coaster of a Phillies career, Neris ranks eighth in team history with 84 saves and 407.2 innings pitched at a respectable 3.42 ERA. In 2023, he had his best season to date, going 6-3 with a 1.71 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 68.1 innings.
Neris, 34, will try to take advantage of his success by landing a good short-term contract with a competitor. Reuniting with the Phillies is definitely a possibility, as they’ll be looking to replace Craig Kimbrel’s output in the bullpen. Neris, whose market value is $7.6 million (Spotrac), would be expensive, but given his track record and current success, it would be wise for both parties to take this into consideration.
Given Trevor Bauer’s off-field problems, this would be a contentious decision for some Phillies. Having said that, it appears that the problems are behind him, and there are good reasons to think that Bauer will still be able to play baseball in 2024.
At the time of his suspension, Bauer—who won the Cy Young Award in Cincinnati in 2020—was playing the best baseball of his career. After this, he had a strong performance in Japan in 2023, going on to appear in an All-Star game after winning 10 games and striking out 130 batters in 19 innings pitched.
Trevor Bauer would be a great addition to the pitching staff, filling the void left by Andrew Painter’s injury and Michael Lorenzen’s impending departure, provided the Phillies are willing to take a chance on the baggage and attention that would accompany the signing. Additionally, this would enable the Phillies to use Cristopher Sanchez as a long reliever in the bullpen, where he would log innings in addition
Don’t expect the Phillies to make any big, expensive moves the rest of the way because they are almost at the luxury tax and have a solid roster. Having said that, in an effort to maximize their window of opportunity to compete, John Middleton and the organization will undoubtedly search the market and fill the team’s gaps.
