3 Landing spots for Didi Gregorius after Phillies release

1. St. Louis Cardinals

One of the teams an MLB Network panel recently suggested where Gregorius could head is the St. Louis Cardinals — who are competing neck-and-neck with the Phillies for the third and final National League Wild Card spot.

The Cardinals could look to add to their mix of veterans with postseason experience, among them notably being catcher Yadier Molina and first baseman/designated hitter Albert Pujols.

Gregorius has an RBI double in three at-bats when used as a pinch-hitter this season, so the Cardinals could view him as a valuable bench asset for a potential deep postseason run.

2. Tampa Bay Rays

With second-year phenom shortstop Wander Franco sidelined since early July, there is some uncertainty at the position for the American League East’s Tampa Bay Rays.

Franco underwent successful surgery last month to repair a fractured hamate bone in his right wrist. The Rays have made things work with Taylor Walls and Yu Chang since then, but both are hitting only .171 and .209 respectively this season.

While Gregorius is not hitting much better than either, he just might best stop-gap option the Rays could turn to until Franco hopefully returns healthy. Another plus is that the free-agent shortstop has plenty of experience playing at Tropicana Field from his days with the New York Yankees.

Currently, the Rays have a two-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians and Baltimore Orioles for the third American League Wild Card spot. Again, a veteran like Gregorius with postseason experience — even if used off the bench come October — is someone teams should not glance over.