After a disappointing finish to what began as a dominant 2024 year for the Philadelphia Phillies, they will be looking for answers in what has now become a long offseason ahead of them. The Phillies will be aiming to make the necessary changes to give themselves the best chances of avoiding another early playoff exit and making it all the way back to the World Series once again in 2025.
To do so, there will no doubt be some roster changes this offseason. We've already speculated that pending free agents Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez, along with trade deadline acquisition Austin Hays, will all not be returning to the Phillies next year.
Here are three more Phillies players whose chances of coming back for another year could be in serious jeopardy.
3 more Phillies players who won’t be back for the 2025 season
Spencer Turnbull
Last offseason, the Phillies took a chance with the potential low-risk, high-reward signing of free agent pitcher Spencer Turnbull to a one-year “show me” deal. Turnbull showed some great promise in potentially developing into an elite MLB pitcher during his 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Detroit Tigers. Unfortunately, his growth was derailed by a slew of injuries that ended up limiting him to just 16 starts over a three-year span from 2021 to 2023 with the Tigers.
With a fresh start, Turnbull’s tenure with the Phillies began on a strong note when he made the rotation out of spring training as a result of a shoulder injury to starting pitcher Taijuan Walker. Turnbull would post a solid 2-0 record with a sparkling 1.67 ERA and 0.84 WHIP with 36 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings pitched over six starts to begin the year.
However, he was relegated to the bullpen upon Walker’s return from the IL. He struggled to a 4.26 ERA and 1.42 WHIP over 10 relief appearances. Just when Turnbull was about to get another chance in the rotation, Turnbull’s injury woes from the past came back to haunt him as he suffered what eventually turned out to be a season-ending right lat strain injury.
With the Phillies planning on giving Walker another crack at earning a spot in the starting five in 2025, along with top prospect Andrew Painter lurking in the wings, there doesn’t appear to be a spot available for Turnbull to challenge for in the starting rotation next season. The fact that he struggled in a relief role, along with his injury troubles, the Phillies will likely not take the risk with him this time around and move on from the injury-prone 32-year-old right-hander.