Five free agents Phillies should consider this offseason

Five rising star free-agents who the Phillies should consider signing this offseason

There is plenty of baseball left on the table this season, with the ALDS and NLDS set to kick off this week. Yet, some teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies, are already looking ahead to free agency to improve their team.

The 60-game sprint is over, and the sample size was enough to give front offices a look at what they can expect production-wise from some key names as free agency looms.

Some big free-agent names still have a chance to further improve their contract negotiation chips during the postseason.

Here are five free agents who notably improved their value in 2020 that the Phillies should consider.

1. J.T. Realmuto

It’s not often that you find a catcher atop the free agency big boards, but J.T. Realmuto seems to have rested his case as one of the premier backstops in the last five years.

At 31, Realmuto is beginning to near the age where positional transition may be needed, but he’s just so good defensively that he could remain there, much as Yadier Molina has. At the plate he’s consistent, and in 2020 with the Phillies, Realmuto hit 11 homers (on pace for 30), batting .266 with a .349 OBP. In his last three seasons, Realmuto’s WAR is over 10 combined, and the production has seemingly only gotten better.

The Phillies allowed Realmuto to test the market, but there’s a more than likely chance that he ends up back in red pinstripes. However, there’s a shortage of top-tier backstops in this league, so don’t be surprised if Realmuto commands more than Yasmani Grandal’s recent $73 million deal with the White Sox.