What or who will the Phillies front office be buying for at the yearly meeting in Nashville the following week?
The annual Winter Meetings are quickly approaching, and with it comes the excitement of all the possible moves that could be made, free agents that could be signed, and trades that could be arranged.
It’s a custom that brings some early thrills to the protracted Major League Baseball offseason.
What fans of the Philadelphia Phillies can expect from their front office when team owners, executives, agents, players, and everyone else in the MLB orbit get together in Nashville next week? What changes are general manager Sam Fuld and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski planning to make in Music City?
Dombrowski can’t stop looking to bolster the roster, despite the fact that he has acknowledged in public a few times that they feel good about their team.
At Aaron Nola’s press conference, Dombrowski stated, “We’re in a position where we can just evaluate a lot of different things that make our club better.” “We don’t really have a gap that needs to be filled. Our bullpen is pretty deep, but we did need a starting pitcher. You can always improve, of course. Although we don’t really need anything, we’ll keep trying to find ways to improve.”
It’s there. The sliver of an opening that gave us fans peace of mind that Dombrowski and Fuld are still searching for improvements for their team.
What categories will the Phillies be perusing during the Winter Meetings shopping spree?
The bench and the Phillies’ outfield are subject to change.
With two superstars and a few young players, the infield is fairly well-defined, but the outfield is still somewhat of a mystery. Johan Rojas’s position is still uncertain for the upcoming season, as Dombrowski previously stated and reiterated during Nola’s press conference last week.
“Our positional players, our infield is basically set,” he stated. “Outfield, we have a little bit of a question just because of a young player [Rojas] that was trying to create some playing time.”
What players from Nashville could the Phillies be able to bring back to strengthen the outfield or add depth to the bench?
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden recently mentioned Whit Merrifield, Nick Senzel, and Brian Anderson as potential free agent targets for the Phillies looking for a right-handed bench bat (subscription required). None of the three players excels defensively, but they can all play either infield or outfield.
If the Phillies set out to acquire one of these three players at the Winter Meetings, it would be to expand the bench’s versatility. If they want a right-handed bat that produces more contact and fewer strikeouts, Merrifield’s bat is the only one worth taking a chance on. This past season, he contributed 26 stolen bases to the Toronto Blue Jays’ pitiful offense while hitting.272 with a 17.1 strikeout rate.
TJ Friedl is one player Bowden recommends they consider if they’re looking to trade for another outfielder. With one DRS and five OAA in 2023, he can compete on par with others in the field. He can run the bases (27 steals), has some pop (18 home runs), and hit.279 with one of the lowest strikeout percentages (16.2%). The Phillies have an abundance of left-handed bats, so the only drawback is that he is another one.
The Phillies will undoubtedly keep looking for bullpen assistance.
This offseason, there has been much drumming for an improved bullpen. Heck, since the trade deadline, a few of us have been beating the drum.
Free agents like Josh Hader and Jordan Hicks have already been mentioned, speculated about, or even vaguely connected to the Phillies. Which teams haven’t been, though, at this time of year?
According to Bowden, the Phillies should consider acquiring bullpen options such as Hector Neris, Matt Moore, Nick Martinez, Phil Maton, and Emilio Pagán. After playing two seasons in Houston, Neris, an eight-year Redstripes player, would be a valuable addition to the relief corps. With a 1.71 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 90.5 percent strand rate, he is coming off a great season.
Another former Phillie, Moore, would be a help, even if fans still have a bad taste in their mouths after his 6.29 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 2021. He has had a couple of incredible seasons since then, with a combined 2.20 ERA and 1.17 WHIP while pitching for Texas, the Los Angeles Angels, Cleveland and Miami.
Although Martinez isn’t as showy, he was effective last season, leading the San Diego Padres bullpen in ground ball percentage (53.8%) and CSW (30.3%). If the Phillies are looking to add a long relief or swingman arm, he could be a good fit. The other potential targets, Pagán (2.99 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) and Maton (3.00 ERA, 1.12 WHIP), both had successful seasons with Minnesota and Houston, respectively.
According to Bowden, Matt Brash, Griffin Jax, Justin Topa, and Julian Merryweather are still available in trades.
Brash of the Seattle Mariners has a 13.63 K/9 and dirty stuff. Though he doesn’t have the same kind of strikeout ability, Justin Topa, another Mariner, pitched to a 2.61 ERA while fielding a 56.7 percent ground ball rate.
Griffin Jax of the Minnesota Twins also has a high ground ball rate (55.6%) and a 9.37 strikeout-to-ball ratio. This past season, Julian Merryweather maintained his health for the first time and led the Chicago Cubs with a 3.38 ERA and a 12.25 K/9 rate.
Fuld and Dombrowski would be wise to add any of these bullpen names.
The Phillies still want to have starting pitchers on their roster.
Though it’s no longer the top priority with Nola back in the fold, starting pitching is still something the Phillies would like to have.
Dombrowski may insist that the rotation is set for 2024, but the Phillies are far from done making adjustments. Yes, they could start the following season with the same five players they had at the end of the previous one. But if the chance ever arose to upgrade the starting five, don’t think for a second that the Phillies’ dynamic front office tandem wouldn’t seize it.
The major contenders for the position of free agent starting pitcher have already been covered by us. There’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a highly sought-after Japanese pitcher, and Shōta Imanaga, a less expensive fellow countryman. The obvious choices, like Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell, are out of the question right now. Additionally, there are the sleeper options, such as Marcus Stroman, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Lucas Giolito.
The main names that have been floated around if the Phillies can strengthen their rotation through trade are Dylan Cease of the White Sox, Tyler Glasnow of the Rays, and Shane Bieber of the Guardians. Corbin Burnes might go to the payroll-cutting Milwaukee Brewers, but that seems out of the question for the Phillies to pay the ace for just a single season.
The Phillies don’t appear to be making as much of an announcement as they did when they signed Trea Turner to an 11-year contract as they did a year ago, but you never know what will happen at the Winter Meetings. But until we hear concrete information regarding the deals that are closing in Nashville next week, you can be sure that there will be a ton more rumors and conjecture.