The Philadelphia Phillies need to make some major changes. Their decrepit core has failed to get the job done for five straight seasons, and in fact has been moving backwards during each playoff appearance. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will need to get quite creative and be willing to cut ties with some well-established players if he wants to get things back on track.
I know I’ve been pretty hard on Dombrowski lately, and justifiably so considering his atrocious roster construction, but the truth is he has a hard job. Getting the Phillies over the hump will not be an easy thing to accomplish. I was taught never to be the kind of person that complains endlessly without offering a solution to the problem. So, with that in mind, here is my blueprint for an offseason’s worth of moves that I think could get the Phillies back on track.
First, a few ground rules. I know the labor situation between the owners and players is fraught at the moment and could lead to sweeping changes to the economic landscape of the game, and in turn the Phillies. However, attempting to predict what those changes would be is a fool’s errand, so I’ll be making my offseason plans assuming the financial aspects of the sport are largely the same in 2027.
Also, principal owner John Middleton clearly has no aversion to splashing cash around, but there has to be a limit somewhere. The Phillies already have a ton of money on the books, and Middleton is certainly not going to run a payroll of $400+ million dollars. I’ll be spending some money, but you won’t see unrealistic proposals like signing Tarik Skubal to a mega-deal. Now, with all of that in mind, let’s jump in.
It will be difficult to reshape the Phillies' roster this winter, but not impossible
Bring back Rhys Hoskins
Let’s start off with a small, heart-warming move. Rhys Hoskins was one of the very few success stories from the Phillies’ drought years, and served as one of the most important pieces on the 2022 pennant-winning squad. Unfortunately, a torn ACL wiped out his 2023 campaign and he hasn’t been the same ever since.
Never forget Rhys Hoskins' bat spike ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/LohixU6ZHS
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) January 24, 2024
However, "hasn’t been the same" is not synonymous with useless, and Hoskins still has a bit left in the tank, even in his diminished state. The burly Californian spent two injury-marred seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers after leaving Philly and provided roughly league-average results at the plate with a .223/.314/.418 slash line and 38 homers over 221 games. Hoskins had to settle for a minor league pact this winter with the Cleveland Guardians and put up a middling .179/.306/.376 line with 13 long balls in 95 games.
Considering his declining output, why would I want to bring him back? Simple: he draws walks, hits for power, and most importantly is right-handed. The 33-year-old has always been a terrible defender and boasts bottom-of-the-barrel speed, but his excellent eye and light-tower power would fit the Phils’ bench perfectly.
There’s almost no way Hoskins would receive major league offers this winter, and he could be enticed to come back home on a minor league deal. He obviously wouldn’t displace Bryce Harper at first base or Kyle Schwarber at designated hitter, but having Hoskins’ thunderous stick and eagle eye in a pinch-hitting role would give whoever the Phillies’ manager is a potent weapon late in games. Add in occasional starts against tough left-handers, and he may end up in the perfect position to maximize his skill set, while bringing in much-needed good vibes.
Absolutely not hire Alex Cora
Until a few days ago, everyone and their mother expected Alex Cora to become the Phils’ skipper in 2027, and for good reason, considering the deep-rooted relationship he has with Dave Dombrowski and the effusive praise the executive heaped upon him earlier this year. By all accounts, it was Cora’s job to lose - and he lost it by turning it down.
However, I have a few reasons for not wanting Cora to pilot my team - the Phillies are already off to a strong start to the offseason by losing him, in my eyes.
First and foremost, he’s a cheater. Cora masterminded the 2017 Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, perhaps the worst black eye the sport has received over the past century. On top of that, he (under Dombrowski’s watch) implemented a similar scheme with the Boston Red Sox in 2018 that led to another championship.
Sure, Cora got himself a ring, but at what cost? A great many fans (myself included) are not enthused by the prospect of trying to find it within their hearts to spend their own time and money supporting a team run by a man who has blatantly and unrepentantly damaged the sport they love.
Now, for a non-soapbox related reason, is Cora really the right man for the job? His ill-gotten 108-win 2018 season aside, he really didn’t deliver much in Beantown. From 2019 through his firing on April 25th of this year (not including the 2020 season in which he was suspended), the Red Sox went a combined 512-487. That comes out to a winning percentage of roughly 51 percent. To put that into context, that winning percentage would yield about 82 ½ victories over a full 162-game season. Not exactly inspiring stuff.
Add to that the fact that the Sox were dead in the water when he was dismissed in April and proceeded to go on a meteoric rise as soon as he was replaced, and it seems Cora may not be all he’s cracked up to be.
Hire Buck Showalter as manager
So, if Alex Cora isn’t going to manage my Phillies, who is? I’m going with Buck Showalter. The Phillies desperately need an adult in the room to make hard decisions like moving Bryce Harper up to first or second in the batting order, telling (not asking) Trea Turner to move off of shortstop, and not catering to the whims of clubhouse cancers like Nick Castellanos who want to play everyday.
The 70-year-old Showalter has had a distinguished 22-year managerial career spanning four decades, in which he’s received four Manager of the Year Awards. His most recent work came in 2022 and 2023 with the New York Mets, where he put together a 176-148 record. Overall, Showalter boasts a 1,727-1,665 lifetime record.
In addition to his Hall of Fame-worthy résumé, there’s one other reason why Showalter is the guy for my team: just like the Phillies, the only thing he’s missing is a ring. On two separate occasions, Showalter has been shown the door by an organization just before they went on to win a World Series. The New York Yankees cut him loose after the 1995 season and went on to win four of the next five Fall Classics, while the Arizona Diamondbacks parted ways with him after 2000 and took home a trophy in 2001.
That pattern has led some observers to claim that Showalter is not the right guy to get a talented team over the hump, but others posit that he’s been rugpulled twice after putting in all of the hard work. Who’s to say what the truth really is, but the point is that Showalter has plenty of experience with star-laden teams with massive expectations. The Phillies badly need an experienced hand to guide the ship and say no to the players’ worst impulses, and what better way to cap off this Phillies era, as well as Showalter’s career, than with a long-awaited ring?
Sign Seiya Suzuki
Everyone knows the Phillies need outfield help, and everyone knows the Phillies need a right-handed hitter. What could be better than killing two birds with one stone? There are two premier outfield bats on the free agent market this year in Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki, and in all honesty ,it’s hard to tell the two apart based off their statistics. I would be thrilled to add either one to the Phils’ lineup, but if I have my druthers, I’ll pick Suzuki.
The 32-year-old has been remarkably consistent in his five years since coming over from Japan, slashing .269/.351/.472 across 2,899 plate appearances. His 2026 season was right in line with that, as he slashed .270/.368/.473 with 31 doubles and 26 dingers, perfectly on par with his year-over-year averages of 34 and 27, respectively.
Arozarena was ever so slightly better this past season, slashing .281/.381/.484 with 34 doubles and 26 dingers, but there’s one important reason why I prefer Suzuki: defense. Arozarena is a well known butcher in left field, and unsurprisingly racked up -7 outs above average in 2026. Conversely, Suzuki is coming off of a +8 campaign in right field (a more demanding position), and has hovered around -2 for most of his career. Neither guy is going to be mistaken for Roberto Clemente, but Suzuki is clearly the better defender.
Last, but not least, I believe it would be important for the Phillies to make a significant inroad into the Japanese market. They’ve tried recently with superstars like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but still have only employed two Japanese-born players in the history of the franchise (Tadahito Iguchi and So Taguchi). Baseball is only becoming more of a global sport, and it would behoove the Phillies to start gaining a foothold in one of the most important baseball nations in the world before it’s too late.
As for cost, I envision something in the realm of the ill-fated Nick Castellanos five-year, $100 million ballpark would be enough to get a deal done. If Suzuki’s camp would rather bump that total up to something like $125 million, I’d still be willing to put pen to paper. The Phillies are going to need to overpay this winter if they want to get quality help before the bottom falls out of this core, and Suzuki is a guy worth paying for (with Arozarena serving as a nice plan B).
Sign Brandon Lowe
Boy, does Brandon Lowe know how to hit. The longtime Tampa Bay Ray has a career .810 OPS, has mashed 192 homers over his nine big league seasons, and is coming off of a spectacular .824 OPS, 35-homer platform year with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now, how does he fit in with the Phillies?
Second base has been manned by Bryson Stott for the better part of five years, but that reality was shaken up at this past trade deadline with the acquisition of Luis Arraez. Stott made a flawless transition to third base, and has also appeared in 110 contests at shortstop in his career, giving the team the flexibility to move him off of the keystone.
Adding a potent bat like Lowe would be quite a good reason to displace Stott, as his 35 longballs would have placed him second among Phillies hitters last year. Bringing in Lowe would add to the plethora of lefty swingers in the Phillies’ lineup, but outside of Gleyber Torres (whose horrifying defense and recent power outage worry me) there aren’t any appetizing right-handed options on the market.
I wouldn’t be opposed to re-upping Arraez, but he’ll likely want to cash in after settling for a one-year deal last offseason, and if I’m going to shell out big bucks for a second baseman, I want him to be an offensive difference-maker. I’d expect to be able to secure Lowe for something in the four-year, $80 million range.
Move Trea Turner to left field
This one is long past due. Trea Turner has been killing the Phillies with his atrocious brand of defense (aside from an aberrant 2025 campaign) ever since they signed him ahead of the 2023 season. Shortstop is one of, if not the most important position on the diamond, and Turner’s granite glovework has directly led to countless Phillies losses over the past four seasons.
At 33 years old, Turner is unlikely to drastically improve his defense, and it seemed like he took his struggles into the batter’s box with him in 2026 considering he posted a career-worst .675 OPS. It can’t hurt his mindset to put him in a less demanding spot on the field and hope that he’s able to right the ship with less pressure on him.
Is Turner going to willingly move off of shortstop? I don’t know. Quite frankly, I don’t really care. He’s already locked up for $300 million through the year 2033. I’m not particularly interested in catering to the ego of a multi-multi-multi-millionaire.
Now, that doesn’t mean I have to be a jerk about it. I’d simply call Turner into the manager’s office (Showalter in this case) and thank him for his many years of service at shortstop and explain to him why moving Bryson Stott to shortstop is what’s best for the franchise moving forward.
Hopefully, he’ll buy into the position change right away for the good of the team. If not, too bad. He can either play left field, or not play at all. Not only would that shore up the overall team defense, but shifting Turner to left would fill one of the cavernous voids in the outfield. If you haven’t noticed, I’m big on two birds with one stone.
Trade Brandon Marsh
Unfortunately, it’s time to say goodbye to a fan favorite. The bearded wonder Brandon Marsh has been a beloved figure in Philadelphia ever since he became part of the Daycare back in 2022 and he’s had plenty of moments in red pinstripes, culminating in an All-Star berth this past season. However, the 28-year-old is entering his final season of team control and cratered so hard in the second half that he was pinch-hit for by the lowly Otto Kemp with the season on the line.
Simply put: Marsh has plateaued. He’s still perfectly viable as a long-side platoon bat and decent defender in left field, but moving Turner has that spot covered and adding Suzuki takes care of right field. With a projected arbitration salary of $8.3 million, Marsh is becoming a pretty pricey part-time player.
Why not offer him up to another team that has outfield deficiencies that hopes to contend? The Toronto Blue Jays completely faceplanted in 2026 after coming within inches of winning the World Series the year before and are sure to take another crack at October glory next season.
Unfortunately, they’ll be without longtime outfielders George Springer and Daulton Varsho, and have gotten practically nothing out of their $92.5 million investment in Anthony Santander. Marsh would instantly become the most proven outfield option in Toronto alongside Nathan Lukes and Addison Barger.
I wouldn’t ask for too much in return for Marsh - in fact, just a pair of depth pieces that suit the Phillies nicely would be enough. 26-year-old catcher Brandon Valenzuela put up a cromulent .688 OPS in his 91-game rookie season and would make for a nice time share behind the plate with the aging J.T. Realmuto.
I’d also ask for utilityman Josh Smith, who came to Toronto at the most recent trade deadline in a minor swap with the Texas Rangers. The 29-year-old doesn’t do anything particularly well, as evidenced by his .671 career OPS (.684 with the Jays last year) and middling defense, but he runs well enough and can handle any position on the diamond aside from catcher.
Adding Smith would fill the superutility role that will be vacated by Edmundo Sosa, and with any luck giving a few starts per week to Valenzuela would help keep Realmuto’s declining bat fresher. If I’m forced to attach a lottery ticket prospect like Devin Saltiban to Marsh to get a deal across the finish line, I’m not letting that hold up a deal.
Trade Orion Kerkering
It’s sad, but this one needs to happen. Right-hander Orion Kerkering entered Major League Baseball with such immense promise at the tail end of the 2023 season, but he just hasn’t been able to figure things out.
His triple-digits heater and wipeout slider should make him a dominant late-inning arm, but his high-profile struggles in pressure-packed situations have made him the punching bag for the fanbase. Things got so bad for Kerkering down the stretch that the Phils demoted him to Triple-A and left him off the playoff roster. He still has all the talent in the world, but if he’s going to realize his immense potential, it won’t be in Philly.
The 25-year-old is talented enough that I won’t give him away for free, but I’m willing to take fifty cents on the dollar to give him a fresh start. In step the formerly-Oakland Athletics, who need all the pitching they can get. Those swingin’ A’s posted a ghastly 5.51 team ERA in 2026 and had all of three trustworthy relievers in Hogan Harris, Elvis Alvarado and Luis Medina. Now, add a rejuvenated Kerkering to that mix and things start looking up.
In return for Kerkering, I want Swiss Army knife Zack Gelof. The local kid (Rehoboth Beach) worked to a fantastic .796 OPS in 2026 with 22 homers and 16 stolen bases in 111 games, a vast improvement over his .719 career OPS. The 26-year-old suited up at second base, third base and all three outfield positions this past season, but I’d want to use him mainly at the hot corner.
I’m well aware of the fact that a down-on-his-luck Kerkering is not likely to net a resurgent Gelof and his three remaining years of team control, but that’s where money does the talking. The A’s signed starting pitcher Luis Severino to a two-year, $45 million contract ahead of the 2025 season, which contains a $22 million player option for 2027. The longtime Yankee has been nothing special with a 4.43 ERA over his two years in Las Vegas, and the A's would probably be thrilled to dump the $22 million option he’ll almost certainly exercise.
$22 million is far more than a pitcher of Severino’s caliber is worth, but I’m betting that he would fare a bit better outside of the hitter’s haven that is Sutter Health Park. On top of that, a paucity of starting pitching depth killed the Phillies for long stretches this past season, and adding Severino as an overqualified sixth man to the rotation would give them a dependable option if one of the starting five goes down.
All told, subtracting Kerkering in this deal nets my team a solid depth arm in Severino and a placeholder at third base until Aidan Miller arrives (at which point Gelof can suit up wherever needed on a nightly basis). To make myself feel a bit better about taking on Severino’s albatross, I'll ask for platoon outfielder Carlos Cortes to fill the left-handed role off the bench vacated by Brandon Marsh.
Splash money around on relievers
The bullpen was a hot mess in 2026, and it doesn’t look like it’ll get much better next year. Closer Jhoan Duran remains the anchor of the relief corps and rookie Alex McFarlane was a Godsend over the summer. Beyond those two, it’s a whole lot of nothing.
So how would I fix the problem? More money. However, the Phillies are not one elite reliever away from a good bullpen. I’m not putting well over $10 million worth of eggs into one Adrián Morejón basket, as nice as that would be. Instead, I’d like to spread the wealth around to a handful of mid-tier relievers in the hopes of creating a reliable contingent.
I reckon Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Emilio Pagán and Raisel Iglesias should all be gettable in the short-term, medium-value range à la Brad Keller’s two-year, $22 million pact. Of that group, I’d target Vesia as a high-leverage lefty option and Iglesias as a proven setup man behind Duran. Call it roughly $25 million on the books for 2027 between the two of them. Beyond that, I might take a flier on a guy like Paul Sewald or Shawn Armstrong for one year and less than $5 million and hope to squeeze out whatever they have left in their arms.
Altogether, this new-look Phils bullpen would have Duran slamming the door, with Vesia and Iglesias as setup men from either side, while McFarlane serves as a high-leverage fireman. Now add in Armstrong and 2026 holdovers Jonathan Bowlan and Chase Shugart, and it’s shaping up nicely. Depth pieces Tanner Banks, Kyle Backhus and Max Lazar can be called up interchangeably as needed.
Conclusion
Does my 2027 Phillies roster immediately become a World Series favorite? No. Even God Himself might struggle to pull that off. However, I believe that this reshaping of the club puts them in a much better position to contend than currently constituted without delving into fantasyland for any of these moves.
The Phillies have roughly $75 million coming off the books this winter, and I used up that and a little bit more with the additions of Suzuki, Lowe, Severino and a pu pu platter of relievers. I don’t think that’s too big of an ask of John Middleton who ostensibly wants his “f***ing trophy back.”
Here’s how I would line up my 2027 Phillies:
LF: Trea Turner; 1B: Bryce Harper; DH: Kyle Schwarber; RF: Seiya Suzuki; 2B: Brandon Lowe; SS: Bryson Stott; 3B: Zack Gelof; C: J.T. Realmuto; CF: Justin Crawford
Bench: Brandon Valenzuela, Josh Smith, Rhys Hoskins, Carlos Cortes
Starting Rotation:
Zack Wheeler; Cristopher Sánchez; Jesús Luzardo; Andrew Painter; Aaron Nola
Bullpen:
Jhoan Duran; Raisel Iglesias; Alex Vesia; Alex McFarlane; Jonathan Bowlan; Shawn Armstrong; Chase Shugart; Luis Severino
For my money, that’s a team that can go toe-to-toe with the Atlanta Braves for the division crown. It is possible to reshape the Phillies’ roster in one winter with a bit of money and a whole lot of creativity. Importantly, I kept spending in check enough that the 2027 payroll shouldn't be dramatically higher than it was in 2026, while also not trading away the few decent prospects the team has down on the farm. Now let’s see if Dave Dombrowski can do it.
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