With the MLB Winter Meetings wrapping up, the Philadelphia Phillies have so far remained quiet with free agent signings and roster-changing trades. Unless you count extending manager Rob Thomson to a contract through 2025, it has been a snooze fest in Nashville. But that doesn’t mean that Dave Dombrowski and company haven’t at least pointed to a few directions the team might explore as the Hot Stove continues to burn.
Two obvious needs for the Phillies became abundantly clear during the season-ending loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS: a bullpen arm capable of getting big outs in the ninth inning, and a right-handed hitting outfielder who can platoon with Brandon Marsh and provide some steady offense.
There’s little doubt that rookie Johan Rojas has the defensive skills to be an elite Major League outfielder. The question right now is how much Rojas will improve at the plate, and will that improvement come with the big club or with a little more seasoning in Triple-A? It’s telling that Topper danced around the topic when meeting with the media.
A recent story by MLB.com writer Todd Zolecki pointed to some names that might fit the Phillies’ needs.
“The Phillies are considering more outfield depth with uncertainty surrounding Johan Rojas in center field and Brandon Marsh having not yet established himself as an everyday player,” writes Zolecki. “Again, that does not mean [Juan] Soto. Think more along the lines of Adam Duvall, Kiké Hernández, Michael A. Taylor or Whit Merrifield, among others.”
Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer also floated Tommy Pham as a possible free agent to watch.
Let’s take a look a closer look at some of these players who might end up in Philadelphia.
