5 Utility players the Phillies should sign after lockout
The Phillies could sign free agent Niko Goodrum
Like Brock Holt, Niko Goodrum has done almost everything. He’s played every infield and outfield position; the only things missing from his resumé are pitching and catching.
The 29-year-old free agent made his debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2017, but has spent four of his five big-league seasons with the Detroit Tigers.
Goodrum is one of many players who has struggled over the last two years, and the pandemic-shortened 2020 is likely a contributing factor. A months-delayed start to the season threw a lot of players off, but there’s no reason he can’t get back to the success he saw with the Tigers in 2018-19, when he hit a combined .247/.319/.427 with a .745 OPS, 56 doubles, eight triples, and 28 home runs in 243 games.
Another thing Goodrum has going for him is that he can steal bases. Despite his offensive production decreasing over the last two seasons, he’s continued to swipe bags, setting a new career-high 14 in 2021. He has 12+ strikeouts in each of the last three full seasons, and stole seven bases in 43 games in 2020.
The Phillies could re-sign Brad Miller
Brad Miller is 32 now, but he just had an excellent season for the Phillies, so there’s no reason not to bring him back on a short-term deal. Over 140 games – which is the most he’s played since 2016 – he hit .227/.321/.453 with a .774 OPS, 20 home runs, nine doubles, three triples, 53 runs scored, and 49 RBI. He also went 3-0 in stolen-base attempts.
On a team rife with disappointment, Miller contributed some of the best moments of the season. He had three multi-homer games, including a three-homer game against the Cubs on July 8. Weeks later, he hit a walk-off grand slam.
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The Phillies have a reputation for collapsing down the stretch, but over his two stints in Philadelphia, Miller has hit more home runs in September (13) than any other month of his tenure by far.
Defensively, Miller spent time at every base, and also played 20 games in the outfield, DH-ed, and pinch-hit in 2021. He’s one of just three Phillies to play 140+ games last season, a stunning indictment of their roster health and depth in itself.
The Phillies could re-sign Ronald Torreyes
Another former Phillie, it was pretty shocking when the Phillies outrighted Ronald Torreyes off the 40-man at the end of the season, resulting in him electing free agency rather than accept an assignment at Triple-A.
Manager Joe Girardi loves ‘Toe,’ as he calls the utility man he’s been managing since their Yankees days. So much so that he started him at third over a struggling Alec Bohm for a nine-game stretch in August 2021, which caused a bit of controversy. It’s been suggested that the Phillies did not retain Torreyes at the end of the season to force Girardi to focus on Bohm, who is supposed to be a significant member of the team.
The Phillies could sign former prospect Jonathan Villar
The Phillies signing Jonathan Villar would be quite a full-circle moment, as they were the ones to sign him as an international free agent over a decade ago. He was part of the trade package sent to the Houston Astros for Roy Oswalt in 2011.
Villar isn’t the same player he was in 2016 when he stole an MLB-leading 62 bases for Milwaukee, but he’s still quite productive. Over 142 games for the Mets in 2021, he doubled and homered 18 times each, scored 63 runs, drove in 42, and swiped 14 bags.
However, Villar is durable. After never being more than a part-time player in Houston, he’s played 140+ games in four of the last six seasons, and 52 of 60 games in 2020. Only three Phillies appeared in 140+ games in 2021: Andrew McCutchen, Bryce Harper, and Brad Miller, and McCutchen led the team with 144.
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