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3 Free agents the Philadelphia Phillies should be obsessed with signing

By Gabrielle Starr

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Starling Marte #2 of the Oakland Athletics bats against the Houston Astros in the bottom of the first inning at RingCentral Coliseum on September 24, 2021 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Starling Marte #2 of the Oakland Athletics bats against the Houston Astros in the bottom of the first inning at RingCentral Coliseum on September 24, 2021 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia Phillies need to be aggressive in free agency to succeed in 2022

Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has made it clear that his offseason priorities are outfielders who can hit and bullpen pitchers (who can actually pitch).

The good news is that there are a lot of options out there for the Phillies to sign, the bad news is that they have stiff competition for every player they’ve been linked to.

Here are three free agents the Phillies should do everything it takes to get:

1. Starling Marte

Starling Marte is the only true centerfielder on the market, which means at least half a dozen teams are vying for him. He checks every box for the Phillies: outfielder, hits for average, lightning speed on the basepaths.

Marte led MLB with 47 stolen bases and did so in just 120 games across stints with the Marlins and A’s. Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto tied for the Phillies’ lead in stolen bases with a whopping 13 of them, and that took each of them 134+ games to accomplish.

This was arguably Marte’s best season; he posted a career-high .383 on-base percentage and tied his career-high in stolen bases. This was his third season with 41+ stolen bases, and he’s stolen 30+ six times in his decade-long big-league career.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman suggests that with Marte’s abilities and uniqueness to the market this offseason, he could sign before the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on Dec 1. The Phillies’ competition for Marte reportedly includes the Mets, Marlins (trader’s regret?), Yankees, and Giants. Dombrowski needs to be aggressive with this one.

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