Randal Grichuk
The Phillies signed free agent Max Kepler earlier in the offseason. Considering how inconsistent the club's offseason position group was offensively last year, they could benefit from another addition to increase their depth. Randal Grichuk had one of the best seasons of his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.
Grichuk's .876 OPS was the second-highest of his 11-year career, one point behind the .877 he totaled back in 2015 with the St. Louis Cardinals. His .291 batting average and .348 on-base percentage in 106 contests with the Diamondbacks were the highest of his career in those respective hitting categories.
The Phillies have some injury issues among their current outfielders. Brandon Marsh has missed time during 2023 and 2024 with various ailments. Aside from the first year he was promoted to the majors and the abbreviated 2020 season, Kepler played in a career-low 105 games with the Minnesota Twins last year. The 31-year-old missed time with a right knee contusion in April and then was placed on the IL at the beginning of September with left patellar tendinitis and missed the remainder of the season.
While Castellanos has demonstrated inconsistency, he seemed like the organization's only productive player among the outfielders in 2024. He also showed his durability as manager Rob Thomson played him in every regular season game.
Johan Rojas needs to improve as a hitter following his first full season in the majors last year. He compiled a .243/.279/.322 line and a .601 OPS in 120 games, and the Phillies sent him down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to work on his hitting struggles with the IronPigs last season. The Phillies will need more from their outfielders in 2025.
Philly's high payroll has caused issues with luxury tax penalties, which has prevented them from being very active in free agency last offseason and this winter. They would have had to forfeit their second and fifth-round draft picks in the 2025 MLB Draft and $1 million of their international bonus pool money if they signed top free agents, including outfielders Juan Soto, Teoscar Hernández and Anthony Santander.
The Phillies' outfield is set with Kepler, Marsh and Castellanos looking like the three starters. Can Rojas and Weston Wilson be enough to step up if one or more of the three starters is injured? The club could benefit from signing a more experienced outfielder to a one-year deal in a backup role. Coming off of one of his better seasons, Grichuk would be a solid addition as a bench player.