With each passing day, it seems as though the chances of the Philadelphia Phillies signing top free agent Juan Soto are becoming slimmer and slimmer. Especially with the so-called frontrunners already aggressively laying down offers after meeting with the 26-year-old phenom.
Nevertheless, we can always dream of what the Phillies' potentially unstoppable lineup would look like if they somehow surprise everyone and reel in the four-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner. Here would be our prediction of the gauntlet that opposing pitchers would need to work through when facing the Phillies with Soto in the mix.
Phillies dream 2025 lineup if they surprise everyone and sign Juan Soto
Order | Pos. | Name |
|---|---|---|
1 | DH | Kyle Schwarber |
2 | SS | Trea Turner |
3 | 1B | Bryce Harper |
4 | LF | Juan Soto |
5 | RF | Nick Castellanos |
6 | 3B | Alec Bohm |
7 | C | J.T. Realmuto |
8 | CF | Brandon Marsh |
9 | 2B | Bryson Stott |
Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber remains in his usual leadoff position with his strong on-base percentage as a result of a high walk rate. Shortstop Trea Turner again follows Schwarber to help set the table for the big bombers coming up behind them. Star first baseman Bryce Harper will now have super protection behind him and could return to his MVP-like form as a result.
As the biggest signing in recent years, it makes the most sense to put Soto in the most productive spot in the batting order, which is the cleanup spot. With Schwarber, Turner and Harper ahead of him, the Phillies will salivate every time Soto comes to the plate with the bases loaded for the upcoming season.
Behind Soto needs to be a strong enough bat to ensure he doesn’t get the intentional free pass each time, so the solid-hitting, 2024 second-half star Nick Castellanos will take that slot. With the Phillies landing Soto as their massive shakeup of the offseason, it becomes less of a need to trade Alec Bohm, so he remains with Philadelphia and hits behind Castellanos as the consistent RBI machine.
The aging J.T. Realmuto can still produce, but likely not at the elite numbers from a few years ago, so placing him seventh in the order is just about right for him. It was recently confirmed that Brandon Marsh will not likely be traded this offseason, so he takes over the eighth spot in the lineup to provide some spark in the bottom three.
Finally, Bryson Stott rounds things out, with hopes of a bounce back from a down 2024 season by starting 2025 at the bottom of the batting order. His speed will come in handy as well when the lineup turns over to the top.
With that, the Phillies potentially have set up a gauntlet of five consecutive 20+ home runs and 70+ RBI hitters that opposing teams would be constantly facing to start a game and when reaching the top of the lineup each time through the order. That gauntlet would be followed by one of the top RBI producers from last season and some veteran experience and speed at the bottom of the lineup to terrorize the opposition from top to bottom.
As a result, the Phillies could finally match toe-to-toe with the Shohei Ohtani-led Los Angeles Dodgers and give themselves a legitimate shot of finally capturing their third World Series title.