The Philadelphia Phillies are fortunate enough to be one of a few MLB teams that lost only a small handful of players to free agency this offseason. This means the bulk of their contending roster from this season will remain mostly intact entering the 2024 MLB season. However, it doesn't mean those who were a part of the Phillies’ 2023 roster are all guaranteed a spot next year.
Which Phillies players could still be in tough to battle it out next spring for an eventual spot on the Opening Day roster? Here are five candidates who will most likely need to prove their worth to secure a job in 2024.
Jake Cave
Jake Cave had a season that pretty much resembled what he has produced consistently throughout his MLB career, which isn’t a good thing.
Cave has the knack of performing at an elite level in the minors but has never managed to translate that success to the major league level. His 2023 season with the Phillies was no different as he struggled early and often for much of the season with the big league club but somehow prospered once again during his minor league stints with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
As a part-time player with the Phillies, Cave posted a gaudy .212 batting average with a .620 OPS, 18 runs scored, five home runs, and 21 RBI in 65 games played. However, he provided steady defense whenever he did get the chance to play, committing only two errors along with 2 DRS in 173 chances over 449 innings on the field.
Known primarily for his hitting prowess, Cave will need to convince the Phillies in 2024 that he deserves to be on the roster. He did exactly that last year by putting together an impressive 2023 Spring Training. He'll need to repeat that kind of performance for the upcoming season to lock down a spot.