Until the day comes when the Philadelphia Phillies finally do something to upgrade their outfield, we're going to continue to scream from the rooftops that this is one area of their roster that needs a facelift.
In the early days of the 2024-25 MLB offseason, it sounds like the club's front office is aware of this fact, but nothing has happened to this point. In fairness, there isn't much happening around the league right now, period, but the Phillies are a team firmly in their contention window that is desperately in need of an upgrade to their roster.
As of right now, Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Nick Castellanos are the club's penciled-in starters, but all three of them come with their fair share of warts. Castellanos is by far the most established of the bunch, but he can be inconsistent at the plate. Both Marsh and Rojas also bring unreliable bats to the field, so the need for a shakeup is apparent.
In a recent article penned by MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, he picked out on ideal trade candidate for every team in the game. One player in particular, Jake McCarthy of the Arizona Diamondbacks, stood out like a sore thumb. Could he be an answer to the Phillies' prayers this winter?
Dbacks' Jake McCarthy feels like the perfect fit for the Phillies
For years now, the Dbacks have had a logjam in their outfield, but McCarthy felt like his job was more than safe after an outstanding rookie showing in 2022. He finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year race that year, but a major regression in 2023 knocked his value down quite a bit.
In 2024, he re-emerged and showed once again how valuable he can be when he's on. The 26-year-old hit eight home runs while driving in 56, stealing 25 bases in 31 attempts and hitting .285 on the season. He doesn't strike out much, he swipes a ton of bases, he's cheap and he's controllable. What's not to love?
One thing that makes McCarthy particularly interesting is the fact that as a left-handed bat, he hits same-handed pitching pretty well. Left-handed batters usually have an extreme disadvantage against southpaws on the mound, especially flamethrowing relievers, but McCarthy has proven to be unbothered by that phenomenon.
Throughout his career, McCarthy has hit .260 with a .705 OPS against left-handers. His batting average in particular jumped up to .284 against lefties this past season, but his OPS dipped seven points to .698. He's no slugger against lefties, but he can hold his own, which is more than Marsh can say.
McCarthy feels like a solid get for the Phillies. He basically fills in every shortcoming the trio of Marsh-Rojas-Castellanos have all in one player. He can't be had for a filler-type prospect, but he's also not going to command a major prospect haul. The fit, at least on paper, feels close to perfect.