Phillies head honcho Dave Dombrowski held his end of season post-mortem today, and rattled off a few things on his wish list. His desires include a big bat in the middle of the batting order, a leadoff man, a shortstop and a closer.
Let's take a closer look.
Big bat in the middle of the order: A healthy Rhys Hoskins. The slugging first baseman will be ready for spring training following season-ending abdominal surgery.
Leadoff man and CFer: Matt Vierling looked good in his 71 at-bats late this season, but I don't know if you can count on him to be a big league leadoff guy just yet. Sterling Marte, who hit .308 with an .837 OPS, is a free agent and plays center And he hits leadoff. He made $12.5 million this season and will be getting a hefty raise. Will the Phillies be willing to pay up for multiple years of a 32-year-old outfielder? Memories of Andrew McCutchen will probably keep them away from Marte.
Another possibility if the oft-injured Byron Buxton of the Twins. When healthy, he's very good. But he's only played 140 games in a season once in his big league career. The other six years he's averaged about 60 games. Too risky.
My vote goes to Dodgers Swiss Army knife Chris Taylor, who plays everywhere (including shortstop and center) and is probably a more attainable free agent, unless he has his hear set on staying in Los Angeles.
Shortstop: Bryson Stott was a first-round pick a couple years back and Bryce Harper loves the kid. He has the bat to stick in the majors, but there are questions about his defense. Give him a long look in spring training with as many at-bats against major league talent as possible. Have him start the year in Triple A with Freddy Galvis holding down the fort. Stott comes up for good around May 1 and is the team's best shortstop since Jimmy Rollins.
Closer: Oy. Anyone but Hector Neris. The free agent thrived in a setup role this season, but we all have PTSD from watching him close. I'd bring him back, but not as a closer. Kendall Graveman was very good for Seattle and Houston this year, but this was the first good year in his seven-year career. The free agent is an affordable possibility.
But relievers are impossible to predict. Brandon Kintzler was outstanding for the Marlins in 2020. He was so bad for the Phillies in 2021 that he was released in the middle of the season. It's a total crapshoot.
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