So far for the 2023 season, the Philadelphia Phillies have done well enough to keep themselves in the thick of things as they currently sit comfortably in the first Wild Card spot in the NL playoff race. Their success this year has been led in large part by a number of key players on the ballclub.
Looking ahead to the end of the current season, the Phillies will have four members of their roster entering free agency. It will be vital for the Phillies to maintain their success by keeping the ones that could help the ballclub the most right now and in the near future.
Here, we take a closer look at which Phillies’ pending free agents should be brought back to continue their winning ways with the team and which free agents they should move on from.
3 pending free agents to bring back
Michael Lorenzen
He may have only joined the Phillies for less than a month’s time, but Michael Lorenzen has already been a part of their history books. Acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline in exchange for top infielder prospect Hao-Yu Lee, Lorenzen has already made his mark by pitching a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals in just his second start with the ballclub. For the season, split between the Tigers and the Phillies, he has posted a 7-8 record with a 3.69 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, giving up 54 earned runs, 36 walks and 98 strikeouts in 131.2 innings pitched.
Lorenzen may have struggled in his past two starts since the no-hitter, but for most of his career, he has maintained an ERA close to four all while pitching to contact. Even though he was probably acquired mainly as a rental for the postseason run, as a mid-tiered starter, he would actually fit in well for the Phillies’ back end of the rotation if they choose to keep him beyond 2023. He also wouldn’t command as much as some of the prime free agent starters hitting the market at the end of the season, including one mentioned later in this list. In addition, it would make the loss of Lee that much more palatable. Depending how he plays out in the coming weeks, Lorenzen may be worth a shot to retain to help the ballclub for the foreseeable future.