Following a disappointing 81-81 fourth-place finish in the National League East last season, the Philadelphia Phillies began a new era this winter with the hire of veteran skipper Joe Girardi as the team’s new manager.
Gabe Kapler, who Girardi replaced and is now at the helm of the San Francisco Giants, couldn’t capitalize on the presence of All-Stars Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, and Aaron Nola last season and there were repercussions across the board.
The Phils turned over a large portion of their roster this offseason, parting with a few longtime mainstays and turning to healthy competition among low-risk Spring Training invitees to fill out the holes in their roster.
Subtractions
- Brad Miller, UTL
- Corey Dickerson, OF
- Drew Smyly, SP
- Juan Nicasio, RP
- Logan Morrison, 1B
- Nick Vincent, RP
- Sean Rodriguez, UTL
- Tommy Hunter, RP
- Cesar Hernandez, 2B (non-tendered)
- Maikel Franco, UTL (non-tendered)
- Jared Hughes, RP (club option declined)
- Pat Neshek, RP (club option declined)
- Jason Vargas, SP (club option declined)
- Jerad Eickhoff, SP/RP*
- Edubray Ramos, RP*
- Mike Morin, RP*
*outrighted to minors, elected free agency
Additions
- Didi Gregorius, SS (one year, $14 million)
- Zack Wheeler, SP (five years, $118 million)
- Josh Harrison, UTL*
- Matt Szczur, OF*
- T.J. Rivera, INF*
- Mikie Mahtook, OF*
- Ronald Torreyes, INF*
- Drew Storen, RP*
- Bud Norris, RP*
- Francisco Liriano, SP/RP*
- Neil Walker, UTL*
- Logan Forsythe, INF*
- Anthony Swarzak, RP*
- Cristopher Sanchez, RP (acquired from TB)
- Robert Stock, RP (claimed off waivers from SD)
- Nick Martini, OF (waivers, CIN)
- Reggie McClain, RP (waivers, SEA)
- Deolis Guerra, RP (waivers, MIL)
*minor-league contract, invite to major league camp
Outlook
With the right pieces around a more-than-capable core in place, the Phillies could see a marked improvement after falling short of expectations last season.
If the Phillies’ positional lineup is healthy and produces to capability, watch out.
Harper, Realmuto, Gregorius, Rhys Hoskins, Andrew McCutchen, Jean Segura, and two former top-draft picks Scott Kingery and Adam Haseley each coming into their own, respectively, has the potential to be a dangerous lineup from top to bottom.
Harrison, Neil Walker, and Ronald Torreyes provide decent bench depth to go along with Jay Bruce and whoever else makes the cut from the 69 total players heading into camp.
Jake Arrieta, 33, who exercised his $20 million player option for 2020 earlier this winter, is expected to return healthy after undergoing season-ending surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow last August.
After Aaron Nola and Wheeler, Arrieta’s contributions will go a long way in determining Philadelphia’s middle-of-the-rotation depth. Plus, right-handers Zach Eflin and Vince Velasquez figure to have a lot more competition which could result in a higher level of performance from the back-end of the group.
Righties Hector Neris and Nick Pivetta should find places in the Phils’ bullpen but predicting the rest of the corps with such a lengthy cast of candidates might be tough. Robert Stock and his 100 MPH heater is certainly a name to keep an eye on, as are southpaws Adam Morgan and Jose Alvarez.
One has to imagine the Phillies will see modest-to-considerable gains under Girardi and his staff (Rob Thomson, Bryan Price, Joe Dillon, to name a few). With talent like this, even a slight uptick could take this roster to great places.
If the pitching can perform/hold up to the rigors of a long season, the Phillies should have every opportunity to find themselves in the thick of things as the calendar turns to September.
