Phillies: 3 free agent center fielders they can sign
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.
Billy Hamilton
The former Cincinnati Reds speedy star has bounced around the last couple of seasons after bat failed to catch up to his defense and base running ability.
Billy Hamilton was the runner-up for the 2014 Rookie of the Year after receiving four first place votes behind Mets ace Jacob deGrom. As a rookie Hamilton hit .250 with 25 doubles, eight triples, six home runs, and a ridiculous 56 stolen bases. While he shockingly didn’t lead the league in stolen bases (finishing eight short of Dee Gordon’s amazing 64) he did lead the league in times caught stealing with 23.
As a hitter Hamilton’s career has been inconsistent, hitting anywhere from .218 to .260 since his rookie season. The one thing he has always brought is his speed and defense in center field, although he’s surprisingly never won a Gold Glove.
After five full seasons with the Reds Hamilton went to Kansas City last season where he continued to struggle at the plate. He saw a resurgence in 26 games with the Atlanta Braves late in the season hitting .268 with a .375 on-base percentage.
A knock on the Phillies potentially signing Hamilton is that they basically have this kind of player in Roman Quinn, although Hamilton has been much healthier in his career. If he’s open to a minor league deal the Phillies shouldn’t hesitate to give him a jersey and some playing time down in Clearwater this spring with the chance to break the new 26-man roster.
Juan Lagares
Juan Lagares is another solid defensive center fielder who has largely struggled to hit in his career, but he remains a viable platoon option for the Phillies.
After an average rookie season with the Mets in 2013, Lagares made himself a staple in the Mets lineup by hitting .281 with 24 doubles and some very good outfield defense. Lagares won himself a Gold Glove in 2014 and stole 13 bags while setting what are still some of his career-best numbers across the board.
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New York gave Lagares a $23 million extension in 2015, but injuries and a lack of hitting knocked him out as the every day center fielder in Queens. Since 2016 he’s hit .242 averaging just 14 extra-base hits a season, and after last season ended the Mets just him instead of paying his $9.5 million option.
What Lagares could bring to the Phillies is defense and the ability to hit lefties, something they might want from a platoon player. He’s a career .264 hitter against lefties and he has the Gold Glove hardware to bring along to Philadelphia.
Lagares can also spray the ball across the diamond, as seen on his spray chart, courtesy of Fangraphs.
Lagares might be another minor league contract the Phillies have to dish out, but it will virtually cost them nothing to give him a shot at the 26th roster spot in spring training. Don’t sleep on Lagares as someone with a chip on his shoulder that the Phillies could give a shot to.
Kevin Pillar
When Morosi tweeted that the Phillies were looking for another center fielder to complement Haseley in 2020 a lot of the replies and comments centered around Kevin Pillar.
Over parts of seven years with the Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants Pillar has hit .261 averaging 37 doubles and 14 home runs.
Pillar’s career started with some bouncing between the minor leagues and Toronto for two seasons before sticking as the starter in 2015 as a 26-year-old. In his first full season Pillar hit .278 with 31 doubles and a dozen home runs while making highlight reel catch after catch in center field.
Pillar made a countless number of remarkable catches in Toronto, whether it be laying out or going straight into the center field wall with no regard for his safety.
Between 2015 and 2018 Pillar’s batting average dropped every year, but he had at least 30 doubles every season and hit 40 in 2018 for the Blue Jays.
After going 1-16 to start the 2019 season the Blue Jays traded Pillar to San Francisco where he would roam one of the largest outfields in baseball. He would find his stroke in San Francisco, hitting .264 with 37 doubles and a career-best 21 home runs.
Pillar has played only on one-year arbitration deals, making $5.8 million in 2019 between the Giants and Blue Jays. He was slated to earn about $9.7 million (per MLB Trade Rumors) if the Giants hadn’t non-tendered him this offseason.
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The injuries and hard hits may have caught up to Pillar, whose defensive numbers took a hit. Statcast had him as a 51st percentile outfielder in 2019 and with a -7 defensive runs saved and +2 runs per Ultimate Zone Rating over his last two seasons. Despite the extra-base hits, he also doesn’t hit the ball very hard, sitting in the 10th percentile for Exit Velocity and 14th for Hard-Hit Percentage.
Pillar did hit lefties better last year, about 26 points higher compared to righties.
At this point Pillar is likely to get a one-year “prove it deal” that will likely be less than the $9.5 million San Francisco turned down. Brett Gardner signed for $12.5 million this offseason, while Kole Calhoun and Corey Dickerson signed deals averaging $8 million and $8.75 million respectively.
Pillar might have to realize he’s going to either platoon for a good team or start for a really bad team and hope he’s traded to a contender late in the year. If he wants to make sure he sticks with a solid team the Phillies might his best option if the money is right.