4 Mistakes the Phillies have already made this offseason

What mistakes have the Philadelphia Phillies already made this offseason?

The Philadelphia Phillies were having quite a quiet offseason before the MLB lockout began on December 2.

Unlike their NL East rival New York Mets, the Phillies were not throwing around hundreds of millions on big-name free agents, nor had they shocked the world with a blockbuster trade. Much of what they did was trimming the fat, freeing up roster and payroll space, and ‘expressing interest’ in numerous players. None of those moves were a waste of time, so to speak, but with the lockout looming, MLB teams were under a time crunch not seen in years. Some clubs kicked it into high gear, like the Mets, and others decided to wait it out.

It’s unclear yet if that was the right move for the Phillies, but here are four things that already feel like mistakes…

1. Signing Corey Knebel

In fairness to Corey Knebel, this isn’t exactly a mistake… yet. However, $10M is a lot to pay a reliever for one season when he’s got a long injury history and

Knebel is coming off a strong, albeit truncated 2021 campaign, in which he posted a 2.45 ERA over 27 games. However, he has pitched a combined 42 games over the last two seasons, totaling 39 innings of work. Compare that to his 2015-2018 run, when he pitched 48+ games and 50+ innings in three of four seasons and putting so many of the Phillies’ financial eggs in his basket for one year feels like a big risk.

Phillies fans are also dealing with a lot of bullpen trauma after the last few years, so it’s hard to envision a time when the bullpen doesn’t ruin games. Hopefully, Knebel will be part of a new kind of bullpen, an effective kind.

2. Not making a blockbuster trade

The Phillies desperately need a change at shortstop, but they owe Didi Gregorius over $15M next year.

The veteran infielder is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, and his defensive struggles long predate his time in Philadelphia. Having him here is only hurting their chances of being something in 2022.

While it would be next-to-impossible to trade Gregorius on his own, if the Phillies packaged him with a prospect or two and still paid some of the money remaining on his contract, there might be a team crazy enough to take that deal. Maybe a team would be interested in former first-overall pick Mickey Moniak, the latest in a string of top draft picks the Phillies can’t seem to develop.

Dave Dombrowski is known for pulling off crazy trades; he brought Max Scherzer to Detroit and Chris Sale to Boston. In July, he got the Texas Rangers to give the Phillies a top pitching prospect in Hans Crouse, starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, reliever Ian Kennedy, and $4M for Spencer Howard and two low-level pitchers. So why is he playing it safe with a team that has Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler, meaning one that should be in win-now mode?

3. Not signing Starling Marte

The Phillies should have done everything they could’ve to sign free-agent centerfielder Starling Marte. They need slugging outfielders, he is one, plus he steals bases in the double digits every single season. In 2021, he led MLB with 47 stolen bases in only 120 games.

Marte was really the only true centerfielder on the free-agent market this offseason, besides Odubel Herrera, whom the Phillies did not want to keep.

The Phillies parted ways with Herrera, Andrew McCutchen, and a few other part-time outfielders, leaving Bryce Harper all alone in the outfield. He’s talented, but he can’t do it alone.

Before the lockout, the Baltimore Orioles were rumored to be interested in dealing All-Star Cedric Mullins, who is coming off an incredible season. It would take a lot to get him, but the Phillies don’t exactly have a lot of other options.