The first big shoe to drop in MLB free agency took place on Tuesday when news broke that the Los Angeles Dodgers had signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million deal. The reigning World Series Champion's addition of the star southpaw marks the second straight offseason that the Dodgers have not been shy about arriving at check out with luxury items in hand.
And now that the MLB free agent pitching market is officially established, will the Philadelphia Phillies follow suit?
There's a growing sense that the Phillies really are going to shake things up this winter. How do we know this? For starters, the Phillies front office clearly means business this offseason, evidenced by the recent release of disappointing trade deadline acquisition Austin Hays and basically offering no promises and a bus ticket to beloved backup catcher Garrett Stubbs at the non-tender deadline last Friday.
Aside from the harsh reminder that baseball is often a tough business, these recent moves signal that the Phillies front office knows this team is going to have to look a little different if it hopes to contend for a World Series in 2025.
With players like Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott and Ranger Suárez all rumored to be available in deals, it's probably a smart move to save the receipts on Phillies gear purchased this holiday season.
But if a recent report is true, maybe not so fast in the case of Marsh, especially after The Athletic's Matt Gelb's recent comments on The Phillies Therapy podcast that the team is now "less inclined to move Marsh" than they were earlier in the offseason. If true, the Phillies either have renewed faith in Marsh finally breaking out in 2025, or the team is actively searching for a right-handed bat to platoon with him for next season. Possibly both.
Austin Hays is going to make the Phillies regret non-tender
It makes sense, following the departure of Hays last week, that Marsh is more likely to stick around this offseason. There's little doubt that the Phillies front office is currently weighing the benefits of a center field platoon of Marsh and Johan Rojas in 2025 and opening up left field for an eventual free agent signing or a trade target.
It's also clear that the Phillies lost faith in the idea that a Marsh/Hays platoon would work over the course of a full season. In his first public comments since being non-tendered, Hays spoke with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic about his offseason plan to prove his doubters wrong next season (subscription required).
“I know I didn’t live up to what I know I can do as a ballplayer,” said Hays per Rosenthal. “I want the offseason to fly by so I can get to next year and show everybody, ‘This is me. What you saw last year, that’s a shell of me. If I can hit .260 with a kidney infection, what can I do when I’m healthy?’”
The kidney infection that landed Hays' on the IL for most of September was just one of a series of health issues to beset Hays after being acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in July. Hays was previously placed on the 10-day IL after suffering a hamstring strain in early August, so Phillies fans never got a long enough look at what the one-time All-Star could offensively bring to the table.
Now that his opportunity has come and gone, Hays is ready to make a better impression with the team that ultimately signs him this offseason.
Hays is obviously a much better player than his .256 batting average and two home runs over an injury-plagued 22-game sample suggests, but are the Phillies really going to kick themselves for letting Hays go instead of paying him $6+ million in arbitration this winter? Probably not.
But make no mistake, the Phillies let a good player with a recent track record of MLB success walk out the door without hesitation last week, meaning it's beyond clear that the Phillies are prepared to make a substantial upgrade in left field for next season.
Following a contract slight and now carrying an obvious chip on his shoulder, it's not surprising that it has become Hays' offseason goal to prove to himself and the rest of his doubters that the Phillies made a very bad decision by cutting him loose.