It seemed just not too long ago that we were all enjoying the thrills of the conclusion of the 2024 World Series. But in just a blink of an eye, we are already more than halfway through the offseason. For the current players who are officially on the Philadelphia Phillies roster, they are likely gearing up for another competitive season while in search of another postseason berth.
However, a fair number of other former Phillies players still in free agency may not be as lucky as they haven’t found a new home yet for the upcoming season. Although there are still a few weeks left before the start of spring training, time is starting to run short for free agents in the market. As a result, let’s take a look at five prominent ex-Phillies who are still without a job heading into 2025.
5 former Phillies players still without a job heading into the 2025 season
Whit Merrifield
As one of the hot commodities last offseason, who would have thought veteran star utilityman Whit Merrifield would have trouble finding a place to play just one year later? Don’t forget he was also the Phillies’ biggest free agent signing in 2024. Unfortunately, things just didn’t turn out the way that both Philadelphia and Merrifield would have expected.
Despite coming off an All-Star season in 2023 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Merrifield was a complete flop with the Phillies last year as he posted an abysmal .199 average, .572 OPS with just four doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI in 53 games played. Things didn’t get any much better following his release from Philadelphia, as he landed with the Atlanta Braves for the remainder of the 2024 season. With the Braves, Merrifield batted .248 with a .684 OPS, five doubles, one home run and four RBI in 42 games and didn’t end up seeing any action during the Braves’ postseason run.
Those who somehow still see any value in the 35-year-old utilityman will need to bet on the fact that he will regain his dominant form seen during his 2023 All-Star campaign. Otherwise, with his offensive stats trending downwards in two of the past three seasons, Merrifield could be in tough to land an everyday role with any team going forward.