The MLB Winter Meetings are scheduled for Dec. 9-12 in Dallas, Texas. Will the Philadelphia Phillies make any impactful additions to their roster during these four days? The team will aim to boost its roster to complement its superstars.
Philadelphia lacked consistent production from its outfield position group during the season. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld took a risk by not making many significant upgrades to the outfield last offseason. The trade deadline addition of Austin Hays turned out to be underwhelming as he missed time with a hamstring strain and a kidney infection. The club chose to non-tender him in November, and he is now a free agent.
Dombrowski said in October that he expects Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh, who have been involved in trade rumors, to play roles with the Phillies in 2025. He did not include Johan Rojas or Hays in the conversation. Left fielder Kyle Schwarber has become their full-time designated hitter and should not be depended upon to play in the outfield. He played in only five contests at the position during the 2024 regular season.
If the Phillies' top outfield prospect, Justin Crawford, is not included in a trade this winter, he could be ready to debut in the majors midway through next season. He is on a trajectory to appear with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Triple-A during 2025.
Following Crawford's promotion to Double-A in 2024, the 20-year-old finished with a line of .333/.380/.455, along with a .835 OPS in 40 contests. Overall, he totaled 25 doubles and 61 RBI and demonstrated his speed with 42 stolen bases this season.
Outfielder Juan Soto is the best free agent on the market this offseason. He would undoubtedly provide an offensive boost to any lineup in the majors. However, the Phillies are not considered to be pursuing him in free agency. His contract will likely be for over 10 years and between $600-700 million. The Athletic's Matt Gelb wrote about Philadelphia's pursuit, or lack thereof, of Soto.
"The Phillies, according to multiple major-league sources, never met with Soto," Gelb writes. "They are not among the teams, those sources said, that are bidding on Soto. The Phillies were viewed as long shots to land Soto; rather than devote time and resources so they could say they tried, they have concentrated their efforts elsewhere."
Let's look at the three best free agent outfielders for the Phillies to sign at the Winter Meetings besides Juan Soto.
Anthony Santander
Anthony Santander has improved some offensive numbers with the Orioles over the last few years. After finishing with 18 home runs in 110 games during 2021, the free agent outfielder totaled 33 the following season in 152 contests.
In 2023, the 30-year-old posted 28 home runs in 153 contests. During Santander's contract year, he finished with a career-high 44 homers. His RBI total has gradually increased since he compiled 50 in 2021. The Margarita, Venezuela, native finished with 89 in 2022, 95 last season, and a career-high 102 this year.
Santander's OPS has increased every season since 2021. He finished with a .719 OPS three years ago, .773 in 2022, .797 during last season, and .814 in 2024. The free agent represents the kind of hitter that would thrive at Citizens Bank Park based on his power numbers over the last few seasons.
However, he has finished with 100+ strikeouts each of the previous four years. Does Santander's high strikeout numbers detract from his appeal to the Phillies? Yes, if the club wants to reduce the number of hitters that chase pitches out of the strike zone in its lineup.
Santander has been fairly durable — missing 10 contests in 2022, nine the following year, and seven this season. The total amount of games played this year represents a career-high for him. His ability as a switch-hitter can come in handy. Phillies manager Rob Thomson would not need to sit him based on pitching matchups as he can hit against both left- and right-handers.
The free agent has played right field the most in his career, with 514 appearances. Santander has played in 90 games in left and 24 in center. The Phillies could utilize his ability to play at first base if Bryce Harper gets injured or needs a day of rest. The eight-year veteran has played in 13 games at first over his career. He was the Orioles' designated hitter for 134 games. If Schwarber gets injured, he would be another option for Thomson to use in the DH spot.
Santander could be a good fit for the Phillies, especially batting at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. However, does Philadelphia already have enough of the kind of batter with his skill set? It should give the front office pause if they do not want to make more similar additions to its lineup.
Jurickson Profar
Jurickson Profar is another free agent who posted some of his best offensive numbers in a contract year. His line of .280/.380/.459 is the highest slash line of his career. His .839 OPS is also a career-high.
Other numbers that were the most of his career during the 2024 season were his 158 hits, 94 runs, 24 home runs, 85 RBI and 76 walks. Profar will certainly look to cash in on his best overall season after re-signing with the Padres for one year and $1 million during August of 2023 following his release from the Colorado Rockies.
Following the Padres' postseason elimination to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, Profar commented on his desire to re-sign with San Diego this winter, according to a piece from team beat writer for MLB.com, AJ Cassavell: "I'm a free agent now. But I want to be here. This team, I think they have all the things to win a World Series. (Manager) Mike Shildt built a beautiful thing here. Hopefully I'm part of it."
Profar also expressed his appreciation for the Padres fanbase's support: "Yes, I feel [the love]. "I feel terrible that we let those people down. I want to win something. I want to win a World Series for San Diego. But free agency is … you never know. I've learned that the last two years."
The Willemstad, Curacao native made his first All-Star game in 2024. During the first half of the season, Profar was one of MLB's best outfielders. His slash line at the end of June was .314/.408/.476. The 31-year-old appeared in 158 regular season contests, another career-high for him.
Profar has demonstrated his talent defensively during his career. During his time with the Texas Rangers, he played throughout the infield and left field. He has played more in the outfield in recent seasons. His ability to play several positions in the infield and outfield makes him one of the more versatile players in all of MLB. The Phillies would be adding a veteran player who has demonstrated his value defensively and is eager to win a championship if the organization signs him this offseason.
Teoscar Hernández
Teoscar Hernández is coming off a World Series championship season with the Dodgers. After posting average slash lines during the first half of 2024, the Cotui, Dominican Republican native improved in the second half of the year.
He finished with a .301/.375/.473 slash line in July, followed by a line of .275/.339/.529 in August. Hernández totaled an extraordinary .329/.407/.605 slash line in September. The outfielder compiled a career-high 33 home runs and 53 walks in 2024.
Hernández does strike out a lot, as he totaled 148 and 152 in 2021 and 2022, respectively, with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2023 with the Seattle Mariners, he had 211, the most of his career, and compiled 188 this season, the second-highest total of his nine years in the majors.
The 32-year-old did well during the Dodgers' Divisional series win against the Padres. Hernández had at least one hit in all five contests and finished with a slash line of .333/.400/.667. He dealt with his share of struggles offensively against the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series.
The outfielder did not have a hit in the first five games of the series before finishing with two during the deciding Game 6. Hernández's postseason slash line at the end of the NLCS was .200/.340/.350. He regained his form from the NLDS in the World Series versus the New York Yankees.
Hernández had a minimum of one hit in all five contests versus the Yankees. He finished with a .250/.352/.417 line in the playoffs. The veteran outfielder had eight runs, 12 RBI, and 10 walks in 16 postseason contests.
The Dodgers are working to re-sign Hernández, and he may be off the market at the start of the Winter Meetings. It remains to be seen if the Phillies will make many significant signings in free agency. Philadelphia has been rumored to want to make roster changes via trade during the offseason. Nevertheless, the free agent outfielder could bring value to a Phillies team aiming to win a World Series as he is fresh off of winning a championship.