2 Phillies players we'll be glad are gone in 2024 and 2 we wish stayed
The Phillies have had minimal turnover of their roster, but even with few players leaving, there are some we won't miss and some we wish had stayed for 2024.
This offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies have focused on forming an elite roster from top to bottom to be legitimate contenders for the World Series in 2024. In doing so, they have let some of their players from 2023 leave the team since it was impossible to keep everyone.
For some of the players who didn’t have much relevance, like minor league pitchers Michael Plassmeyer and Erich Uelman, their departures from the organization in free agency were probably not even realized by the average fan, given the pitchers' limited exposure and contributions to the ballclub.
After all, Plassmeyer appeared in just one game for the Phillies in 2023, but it was certainly a forgettable one at the end of the season when he gave up eight hits and nine earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings. Similarly for Uelman, he made one appearance for the major league team in May, giving up three hits and four earned runs in just a single inning of work. Perhaps those outings left a lasting impression on the Phillies, making their decisions on their future quite simple.
But what about those high-caliber MLB players who suited up for the Phillies in 2023? By being on their 26-man roster for a significant amount of time last season, they must have played somewhat of a role in helping the team accomplish what they did in the end. In these cases, which players who have left the team shouldn’t cause too much worry and which ones could potentially come back to haunt the Phillies in 2024?
Here, we'll look at two former Phillies that we’ll be glad are gone, along with two other former players who will make Philadelphia regret letting them go.
Josh Harrison is a former Phillies player we'll be glad is gone in 2024
During the 2022-23 offseason, the Phillies signed veteran utility player Josh Harrison to an economical one-year, $2 million contract. At the time, they were looking to the two-time All-Star to bring his extensive leadership and breadth of experience to the ballclub to help lead them to success. He was expected to provide the Phillies with the flexibility of playing all over the field while generating quality at-bats at the plate as a part-time player.
However, Harrison had one of the worst seasons of his entire 13-year MLB career when he compiled a .204/.263/.291/.554 slash line, 53 OPS+, eight runs scored, three doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI, three walks and 20 strikeouts in just 40 games.
Defensively, he didn’t fare much better, as he registered a -4 DRS in just 35 games in the field. His ineffectiveness in his performance led to a severe reduction in playing time, and he was even eventually designated for assignment by the Phillies at the Trade Deadline.
Without Harrison in the fold — he has moved on to the Cincinnati Reds in 2024 — the Phillies have replaced him with the exciting addition of super utilityman Whit Merrifield. From the fantastic looks he has given the team so far in spring training, Merrifield appears to be exactly what the Phillies needed. They sincerely hope he can keep this up throughout the season and into the playoffs.
With Merrifield costing $8 million for his one-year contract, compared to Harrison's $2 million, as the saying goes, you sure get what you pay for. As a result, Merrifield will likely make it very easy for the Phillies faithful to completely forget Harrison's miserable season with the team in 2023 and hopefully provide a much-needed spark to put them over the top.
Michael Lorenzen is a former Phillies player we'll be glad is gone in 2024
Pitcher Michael Lorenzen was acquired by the Phillies at the Trade Deadline last season to help bolster the rotation down the stretch. The Phillies had to give up promising prospect Hao-Yu Lee to obtain his services as Lorenzen was having an All-Star season with the Detroit Tigers at the time, posting a 3.58 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 83 strikeouts in 105 2/3 innings pitched.
The trade seemed to pay dividends right away, as Lorenzen won his first start as a Phillie and followed that up by pitching a no-hitter in his second start.
Unfortunately, that turned out to be the highlight of his tenure with the Phillies, as he struggled for the rest of the season, so much so that he was relegated to bullpen duties near the end of the year. He finished the regular season with the Phillies with a decent 4-2 record but with a gaudy 5.51 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, along with giving up 29 earned runs, including nine home runs, 20 walks and 28 strikeouts in just 47 1/3 innings. As a result of his ineffectiveness, he saw minimal action during the postseason during the Phillies’ playoff run.
After being let go to free agency at the end of the season, Lorenzen has yet to sign with a team this offseason, showing perhaps the Phillies made the right decision not to retain him. With his track record showing that he sports a lifetime 4.11 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, along with just 602 strikeouts in 724 innings, current rotation pieces Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sánchez would all be ahead of Lorenzen on the depth chart. Lorenzen would be just insurance pitching depth at best if he remained with the ballclub.
As a pitcher focusing more on finesse delivery than potent strikeout ability, it would be hard for him to thrive in the heavy-hitting NL East, as he would get eaten alive. As a result, the Phillies won’t be hurt too much for now or in the future by the fact that he has moved on from the team, especially since he has been projected to land a two-year, $22 million deal by MLB Trade Rumors.
Craig Kimbrel is a former Phillies player we'll wish stayed in 2024
After witnessing the semi-collapse of Craig Kimbrel down the stretch and ultimately during the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, it was obvious that many of the Phillies faithful wanted Kimbrel gone for good this offseason without giving it a thought. But if you take a closer examination of what Kimbrel did for the team overall, he brought more to the table than the playoff blowups that everyone has firmly imprinted in their memories.
It's easy to forget that Kimbrel was actually the key piece of the Phillies bullpen that kept the team afloat during the first half of 2023, when many of the other relief arms were struggling. Up until the All-Star break, Kimbrel was absolute money every time he took the mound at the end of ballgames, going 5-1 and 14-for-14 in save opportunities, along with a 3.41 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a whopping 57 strikeouts in just 37 innings.
Kimbrel is an established veteran closer with 417 career saves over his 14 years in the majors, including leading the league four times in that category. The 417 saves also rank him eighth on the MLB all-time saves list, so he definitely knows how to get it done. On top of that, if Kimbrel is believed to be truly on the decline, a division-winning team looking to contend for the World Series in 2024, like the Baltimore Orioles, wouldn’t have invested in him if they thought he would hurt their chances.
The Phillies didn't address their closer situation with any external moves this offseason and will be counting upon an internal solution to help fill the role. However, none of the current candidates have had extensive prior experience finishing off ballgames. That is a huge gamble, considering the Phillies aim to be contenders for the World Series again in 2024. If they encounter serious issues closing out games this season, they will undoubtedly look back on their decision to let one of the best in the business go.
Rhys Hoskins is a former Phillies player we'll wish stayed in 2024
The departure of former star first baseman Rhys Hoskins could potentially hurt the Phillies the most. Hoskins was one of the key backbones of the ballclub for many seasons prior to 2023. He could be counted on consistently for close to 30 home runs and 80 RBI each season while playing solid defense at first base, with a career .992 fielding percentage.
More significantly, Hoskins could be counted on to come through in clutch situations, as shown by his stats when hitting with runners in scoring position. In his last active season in 2022, he batted .292 with a .903 OPS with seven home runs and 52 RBI with RISP. In the same situation with two outs, he was just as clutch, hitting .283 with a .934 OPS, five doubles, three home runs, and 24 RBI.
With numbers like that, he sure would have made a difference when the Phillies offense struggled mightily to score runs in the final three games of the NLCS against the Diamondbacks.
Hoskins missed the entire 2023 season due to a torn ACL injury he suffered during spring training. As a result, Bryce Harper eventually took over first base duties during the season while Kyle Schwarber was taken out of the field and placed in the designated hitter role.
With the Phillies’ full intention to keep them in those respective positions for 2024, it left Hoskins without a spot in the two main positions he would fit. Therefore, the Phillies let him enter free agency and was ultimately picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers on a two-year deal. What the Phillies failed to recognize was the fact that having Hoskins as a part of the team makes them better, as manager Rob Thomson has expressed.
Without Hoskins, the Phillies are still solid contenders, but they might have been offensive juggernauts had they kept him instead to match toe to toe with the Atlanta Braves offense.
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