4 difficult roster decisions the Phillies must address ASAP
The Phillies are having their hands forced by their roster with the trade deadline approaching.
The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of work to do if they have any aspirations of making another deep postseason run. In fact, they are currently on the outside looking in of the postseason picture as they are 11 games back in the National League East and 2.5 games back in the wild card race. Neither of those margins are completely insurmountable, although the division race is looking more and more bleak by the day as the Braves are refusing to lose.
Not all the news is bad, though. The Phillies' rotation that was so good last year has been the best in baseball by fWAR so far in 2023 at 9.4. The Phillies' top three starters Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Ranger Suarez match up well with any other rotation in the league now that Suarez's adjustments have taken hold ($). The bullpen has been a top 8 group in MLB as well with Jose Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel leading the way. Having that level of pitching is going to keep Philadelphia in a lot of games.
However, there is no denying that the Phillies' roster has some problems particularly on the offensive side of the ball. It is probably reasonable to expect Trea Turner to be better the rest of the way and eventually Bryce Harper is going to find his power stroke. However, that doesn't mean that the Phillies don't need to start making some real changes to this roster if they want to turn their fortunes around in 2023.
Here are the difficult Phillies roster decisions the team needs to make ASAP
There are a lot of paths forward for the Phillies over the next month and frankly, it is unlikely they are going to completely solve all of these problems in the next month as there are just too many moving parts. However, these are among the most glaring problems with the Phillies roster that really need to be resolved somewhat for them to take that next step towards contention again.
Without further delay, lets look at the difficult roster decisions the Phillies have coming up.
The Phillies have a Kyle Schwarber problem
Kyle Schwarber's presence and role on the Phillies' roster causes a number of problems. On one hand, he has been their biggest source of power in their lineup as his 21 homers and .253 ISO leads the team by a wide margin. However, that along with a good walk rate is pretty much all he brings to the table these days as he is slashing .184/.325/.437, is a terrible defensive player, and has been worth -0.1 fWAR in 2023 despite all of those dingers.
We'll talk about the defense first because the solution there is both the easiest and also appears to already be in the works. Schwarber should not be in the field at all. Period. In the outfield this season, he has -14 Outs Above Average which is shockingly bad for half a season's worth of play. Fortunately, it looks like a more permanent slide over to the DH spot is coming as the Phillies are currently planning on playing Bryce Harper at first base after the All-Star break. Once that happens, Schwarber should not be in the field nearly as much and that is a huge win in itself.
The offensive struggles are a bit more complex and long built. Schwarber has basically been this sort of hitter in three of his past four seasons where he hits a bunch of home runs and draws walks, but the rest of his offensive game really lags behind. One hopes that not being in the field will allow Kyle to save some energy and contribute in a more well-rounded way at the plate, but that is far from a given.
While it isn't likely given that the Phillies owe Schwarber $20 million a year for the next three seasons, things are rough enough that his presence on the roster at all should be questioned if he doesn't show signs of improvement at the plate soon.
The Phillies need to replace Kody Clemens
This lines up with the first base discussion above, but warrants specific mention here. Kody Clemens has some experience playing multiple positions, but has seen the bulk of his playing time at first base where he has split time with Alec Bohm in 2023. However, he has left a lot to be desired at the plate wherever he has played in the field with a .232/.279/.370 and 74 wRC+ in 147 plate appearances.
Assuming Bryce Harper makes the move to first base relatively quickly, the Phillies should look to just replace Clemens on the roster with an outfield bat that can keep Schwarber off the field that can actually contribute offensively. Adam Duvall would be an ideal scenario assuming the Red Sox choose to make him available at the deadline with guys like Lane Thomas and Teoscar Hernandez being relatively interesting options as well.
Bullpen reinforcements should be a priority for the Phillies at the deadline
The Philadelphia bullpen has been very good in 2023, but having some depth they can rely on in the second half needs to be on their radar. The Phillies have done well to limit Jose Alvarado's usage so far which is great, but Craig Kimbrel is not a young man and he has already made 35 appearances this season. Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez are at 32+ appearances in as well. The Phillies are going to need to be able to rest these guys some in the second half without risking blowing winnable games.
This is a problem that basically every contending team has and fortunately, relievers are the most plentiful resource at the trade deadline. Aroldis Chapman is already off the market as the Rangers traded for Chapman on Friday. However, there are still a ton of options available between a slew of rental guys as well as guys that would come with extra team control (and the subsequent cost premium). Scott Barlow from the Royals, Daniel Bard from the Rockies, and Keynan Middleton from the White Sox are all guys the Phillies should have on their radar.
The Phillies need to figure out what their plan is for Alec Bohm
With the impending infield shuffle that is coming if/when Bryce Harper moves to first base, the natural question becomes what does the future hold for Alec Bohm. The problem with Bohm is that he is just a very meh sort of player which makes decision-making arguably more difficult. For three straight seasons, he has been a below average to slightly below average hitter and a below average defender at third base. Not a terrible player by any means, but certainly not a good one.
However, the Phillies don't seem to have a plan at third base beyond using Bohm regularly over there. If the Blue Jays decide to make Matt Chapman available as a pending free agent, the Phillies should be all over him at the deadline. A longer term solution could be Ryan McMahon as he has some team control and he has the added bonus of having a lot of defensive versatility, but that plan requires the Rockies to be reasonable which they don't have the best track record of being.
In any case, when you look at Bohm, you don't see a guy that provides much positive value. He is still young and could figure things out, but the Phillies have to start making hard choices and can't afford to wait around and hope that he turns into the guy they hoped he would be.
More Phillies News from That Ball's Outta Here
manual