Madison Bumgarner and Didi Gregorius are reportedly among the players the Phillies are showing interest in this offseason.
The Phillies have their new manager, pitching coach, and hitting coach.
Now, their focus is on improving the roster.
Amid the early stages of the offseason, the Phillies are reportedly interested in shortstop Didi Gregorius and southpaw starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi.
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Gregorius, 29, has some major league experience at second and third base (both in 2014 with the Arizona Diamondbacks), however, if signed, he likely would replace Jean Segura at the position. Barring a trade, the Phillies would then have Segura play full-time at second base, assuming they non-tender Cesar Hernandez, who is in his final year of arbitration eligibility after earning $7.75 million this past season. Under this scenario, Scott Kingery could find play full-time at third base.
Spanning eight seasons in the majors, including five most recently with the New York Yankees, Gregorius has slashed .264/.313/.429 with 145 doubles, 110 home runs, and 417 RBI spanning 851 games and 3,382 plate appearances.
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The Amsterdam, Netherlands, native was coached by then-Yankees manager Joe Girardi for three seasons, 2015 through 2017. Since then, the left-handed-hitter’s batting average fell from .287 in 2017, to .268 (2018) and .238 (2019). Now, the two could potentially reunite in Philadelphia.
Bumgarner, 30, is a four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and most notably a three-time World Series champion and one-time World Series MVP. The 11-year veteran is 119-92 in his career, with a 3.13 ERA, 1.111 WHIP and 1,794-428 strikeout-to-walk ratio spanning 1,846 innings.
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While the former 10th overall draft pick’s ERA rose to 3.90 ERA, it would still be among the best on the Phillies’ pitching staff, who had a combined 4.64 ERA in 2019. MLB.com writes:
"Since 2017, the team’s starters have allowed the fifth-highest wOBA (.340) in MLB against left-handed batters. Bumgarner limited lefties to a .237 wOBA in 2019.The Phillies would need to surrender a Draft pick to sign Bumgarner, who rejected a qualifying offer from the Giants. Gregorius has no Draft-pick compensation requirements attached to him, as he didn’t receive a QO from the Yankees."
Adding All-Star-caliber players in Bumgarner and Gregorius just one offseason after Segura, Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, and Andrew McCutchen, among others, would surely grab the attention of Phillies fans.
Whether the club pursues and ultimately signs either or both players remains to be seen.