The Philadelphia Phillies are in the most discernible and precarious situation in the Bryce Harper era with the current roster construction. Payroll is at an all-time high with their stars being locked up on long-term deals, but the dynamism of the players has lacked and cost the team precious series in October.
When the offense is at its best, few teams can match the firepower and punch the Phillies can churn out. It's what has bestowed fans historically memorable moments in the franchise's history. The flip side of that coin is when the swinging and missing ensues. As if a contagious disease, the offense goes ice cold, with plate discipline and execution falling by the wayside. The latter has reared its ugly head in the Phillies' ranking of top-10 post-MLB Winter Meetings offenses.
The Phillies' offense is the one x-factor that is still an uncertainty. They signed 10-year veteran Max Kepler to a one-year, $10 million deal to get them closer to a World Series contender, but the offense needs more assurance of consistency in playing their brand of baseball through October. According to ESPN.com's Bradford Doolittle, the Phillies still have work to do to compete against the other juggernaut offenses in baseball.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski did discuss the Phillies potentially being done in the free agent market after signing Kepler, but the trade market could really be where they can shine. The less salary impingement there is, the more options still remain with some valuable prospects to trade.
Here's where he ranked the Phillies, based on a hitting index based on each club's current park-neutral run projection, after the Winter Meetings:
Rank/Team | Hitting Index |
---|---|
1. Los Angeles Dodgers | 119.2 |
2. Atlanta Braves | 115.4 |
3. New York Mets | 114.1 |
4. Houston Astros | 111.3 |
5. San Diego Padres | 110.2 |
6. New York Yankees | 108.4 |
7. Arizona Diamondbacks | 106.8 |
8. Baltimore Orioles | 106.4 |
9. Cleveland Guardians | 105.3 |
10. Philadelphia Phillies | 105.1 |
Baseball teams are evidently catching up to what they Phillies have done in recent years. The prime sluggers that warded off the rest of the league are another year older, and with other top NL teams signing franchise-altering players, the Phillies need depth and a signing like Kepler is a good start.
Missing out on Juan Soto and Kyle Tucker isn't detrimental to the team moving forward, but puts a dent in the NL pennant plans. That level of star is still possible and would be welcome to a Phillies' clubhouse that could be expecting an identity switch in the near future.
"The younger lineup regulars the Phillies have come up with the past few years -- Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh -- have established themselves as solid contributors," Doolittle said. "They aren't stars, though, and might just be what they are at this point."
The younger Phillies stars haven't broken out the way they hoped, but look to build success off of Bohm's All-Star season. Having the offense ranked 10th is a far cry from where this offense was believed just a few months ago and will take exertion to re-establish a balance. If it takes a prospect package to bring in a younger star to pair with Kepler, it's worth shaking up the core that has come up short.