The Philadelphia Phillies have certainly made some smart moves so far this offseason. Whether it be the re-signing of veteran slugger Kyle Schwarber, the inking of free agent outfielder Adolis García and bullpen stalwart Brad Keller, or even some under-the-radar trades for Kyle Backhus, Jonathan Bowlan and Yoniel Curet, their goal is to make the team that much better for 2026.
However, despite the solid offseason transactions completed to date, there were some relevant moves made by other teams that the Phillies failed to capitalize on when they had the chance. Let's take a look at three offseason moves so far that Philadelphia will regret missing out on to bolster their roster for the upcoming season.
3 offseason moves so far the Phillies will regret missing out on
Rob Refsnyder, signed by the Seattle Mariners for one year, $6.25 million
The Phillies have longed for an ideal outfield solution over the past few seasons. Their signing of García may help solve half of the problem, but they could have added another intriguing piece in free agent Rob Refsnyder to complete their outfield picture. Instead, he signed a one-year, $6.25 million deal with the Seattle Mariners.
Refsnyder has been known for being a renowned lefties masher in recent years, so good that he ranks among the top six in the entire league in various statistical categories as pointed out by Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Since 2022, Refsnyder sits fifth in batting average (.312), sixth in OPS (.924) and fifth in wRC+ (155) against left-handed pitching.
Assuming Nick Castellanos won’t be in the mix, the Phillies outfield will consist of García, Brandon Marsh and promising rookie Justin Crawford as their main starters. However, Marsh has had his troubles hitting against southpaws throughout his career, holding just a .213 average and .581 OPS over 474 plate appearances.
As for Crawford, there could potentially be some growing pains in his first season in the majors. With Crawford also being a left-handed batter, he could encounter some initial woes against elite left-handed pitching at the MLB level. Refsnyder would have been the perfect backup platoon complement to both Marsh and Crawford.
Harry Ford, acquired in trade by the Washington Nationals
When the Mariners traded top catching prospect Harry Ford and pitching prospect Isaac Lyon to the Washington Nationals for lefty reliever José Ferrer, the Phillies really dropped the ball on this one. With J.T. Realmuto in free agency this offseason and former top catching prospect Eduardo Tait gone to the Minnesota Twins in the trade for closer Jhoan Duran last season, Philadelphia had been left with a lack of quality catching depth in the organization.
With Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs now holding down the fort at the major league level and the Phillies current top catching prospect Caleb Ricketts just in Double-A as of 2025, let’s just say Philadelphia won’t be scaring anyone at the position in its current state.
A 2021 first-round draft pick, Ford had been one of MLB Pipeline's top-50 prospects for the past three seasons. The young 22-year-old catcher is coming off a strong 2025 minor league campaign in which he compiled a .283 average, .868 OPS, 68 runs scored, 16 home runs and 74 RBIs in 97 games. and actually made his major league debut albeit for eight games in September with the Mariners. Ford had also recorded 20-plus stolen bases for three consecutive seasons prior to 2025 while posting a solid career .987 fielding percentage behind the plate.
With Philadelphia eventually trading lefty Matt Strahm for an underwhelming return a couple of weeks later, they could have easily landed Ford instead as Strahm would have been a far better upgrade for the Mariners than Ferrer. As a result, if the Phillies do fail to re-sign their star catcher this winter, they may regret not trading for the younger, raw version of Realmuto in Ford as his ideal replacement.
Pete Fairbanks, signed by the Miami Marlins for one year, $13 million
Improving the bullpen for 2026 has been one of the Phillies' goals this offseason. After all, their relievers in 2025 finished 20th in ERA (4.27) and WHIP (1.33), 24th in opponents batting average (.249) and 28th in strikeouts with just 505.
With a limited budget, they were never really in the mix for top free agent relief options such as Edwin Diaz, Ryan Helsley, and Robert Suárez. However, they still had the opportunity to reel in a more value option in Pete Fairbanks, but it never really materialized. Even worse is the fact that Fairbanks eventually landed with the division rival Miami Marlins, signing a one-year, $13 million deal.
Sure, the 32-year-old closer has had his troubles with injuries in the past. But when healthy, Fairbanks has proven to be one of the top relievers in the game. With a career 3.19 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, with 332 strikeouts in 265 1/3 innings, he would have significantly improved the bullpen for 2026.
Moreover, with 90 career saves, Fairbanks could act as valuable closer insurance while forming a one-two punch with Duran to potentially close out games. At just $13 million and for just one season as the deal the Marlins ended up handing him, the Phillies sure missed out on a potential low-risk, high-reward relief option in Fairbanks. Now, they are forced to face his wrath whenever Philadelphia meets Miami this upcoming season.