Where will the Phillies turn to fill their center fielder job in 2020?
The Phillies offseason has been extremely quiet ever since the Winter Meetings ended more than a month ago. Since signing Zack Wheeler to give them another top of the rotation pitcher and adding Didi Gregorius to sure-up the shortstop position, the Phillies front office has been extremely quiet.
Jon Morosi of MLB.com recently broke the silence when he tweeted that the Phillies are looking for a right-handed-hitting outfielder to platoon with 2018 first round pick Adam Haseley.
Right now the Phillies are in a tough spot with about a month until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Clearwater. They’re about $6 million away from the luxury tax (per Spotrac) and have arbitration cases pending with Hector Neris and J.T. Realmuto.
Financially the Phillies as an organization can afford another player, but at this point it looks like they don’t want to pay the luxury tax by having a payroll over $208 million. They still could look at a bottom of the rotation starter or reliever in free agency, and the trade market remains hot with names like Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado out there.
If the Phillies are looking to sign a center fielder, they’ll be looking for someone who’s traditionally not an everyday player who will come cheap. We’ve already looked at potential trades the Phillies could make to fill the need, now here’s a look at some free agents they could sign.