4 contracts the Philadelphia Phillies could unload before 2022

Should the Phillies rid themselves of Didi Gregorius’ contract?

With the upcoming free-agency class absolutely stacked with star shortstops, Didi Gregorius‘ contract is looking worse by the day.

After a strong, albeit short first season with the club, Phillies signed Gregorius to a lucrative two-year deal last winter. At the time, the Phillies likely thought the deal would enable them to bypass the shortstop feeding frenzy this offseason; now, they might find themselves down in the dirt with everyone else.

Gregorius put up the worst batting average and OBP of his career. Defensively, he ranked fourth-worst among shortstops in defensive runs saved.

Earlier this month, Dombrowski confirmed that Gregorius’ future with the team is not secure:

"“It very well could be him. But he knows, we’ve had a discussion with him, that he needs to be better. We’re in a position where we also are going to be open-minded to what’s going to take place at shortstop next year. It could be internal. It could be him if he comes back.” “We need to get better at shortstop. We need to, if it’s internally or externally, whatever it may be, we need to do that.”"

If he comes back. Not when. If.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Phillies could package him with one of their few top prospects and eat part of the remaining $14 million on his contract. They might find an unwitting team willing to take Gregorius off their hands, freeing them up to target an upgrade.