6 free agents The Athletic thinks are a good fit for the Philadelphia Phillies

It's officially that time of year again, the in-between time of the GM and Winter Meetings. Fans begin to attempt to map their favorite team’s moves, team officials are preparing multiple offseason acquisition plans, and media members speculate where players will go based on information they have acquired throughout their work.

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden has put together his top 40 MLB free agent list (subscription required) with some interesting predictions. In particular, there were six free agents The Athletic thinks will fit the Philadelphia Phillies roster.

Shohei Ohtani

The number one free agent on the list is number one on everybody’s list. That man is Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is truly one of the greatest baseball talents of all time. Last season, he hit for a .304 batting average, a .412 on-base percentage, and a .654 OPS, 44 home runs, 95 runs batted in, 102 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases. Ohtani's stats as a pitcher are also impressive, as he posted a 10-5 record, a 3.14 ERA, 167 strikeouts, and 55 walks in 23 starts over 132 innings. 

What else can someone say about the athletic and baseball marvel that is Shohei Ohtani that hasn’t been said? The stats and the hyperbole speak for themselves when describing Ohtani’s play. Ohtani’s skillset would play well with what the Phillies need in their lineup. That is a hitter who is a reliable hitter with runners in scoring position (.317 batting average and 41 RBI in 2023), barrels up baseballs (he led the MLB in barrel rate at 19.1 percent), and can use the entire diamond to record a hit. 

Ohtani’s elite level of hitting would slide right into the Phillies' lineup and make it a legitimate juggernaut. On the pitching front, Ohtani provides a number one type of starter alongside one of the best starting pitchers in the league, Zack Wheeler. It’s an obvious statement, but Shohei Ohtani certainly would fit with the Phillies. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is another Japanese sensation of a baseball player. The 5-foot-10 pitcher is ready to come over to the MLB and show that he can hang with the best talent in the world of baseball. The right-hander has electric stuff and a lethal pitching repertoire that features a blazing fastball, biting slider, deceptive changeup, dazzling splitter, and knee-buckling curveball. 

Yamamoto was first exposed to the MLB-viewing audience in the World Baseball Classic this past spring. Yamamoto struck out eight against Team Australia in a variety of ways. Every single strikeout besides one was swinging. The hitters looked absolutely helpless against Yamamoto as they chased pitches that wound up completely out of the strike zone. That is how much control Yamamoto has over the movement of his pitches. 

Yamamoto has pitched for the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball League since 2017. This past season, Yamamoto won his third straight Eiji Sawamura award, which is the NPB’s equivalent of the Cy Young award. The 25-year-old was 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA in 23 starts in 2023. There’s no doubt that the Phillies could utilize this young, dynamic starting pitcher and fit him into their 2024 rotation.

Jordan Montgomery

Jordan Montgomery is a veteran option on this list. The left-hander is a brand new World Series champion, and he definitely contributed to the historic victory for the Texas Rangers. Montgomery is a big left-handed pitcher who uses finesse and location to get hitters out.

On the season as a whole, Montgomery had two different experiences on two different teams. Montgomery started out the year on the St. Louis Cardinals until he was traded to Texas around the trade deadline.

With the Cardinals, Montgomery was 6-9 with a 3.42 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 108 strikeouts in 121 innings over 21 starts. St. Louis fell out of the race and Texas needed an arm badly in their rotation. The former Yankee delivered for the Rangers as he went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 67 2/3 innings over 11 starts in the regular season.

He was one of the most important pitchers in the Rangers’ World Series run. Montgomery appeared in six games, tallied a 3-1 record, a 2.90 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, and gave up eleven earned runs in 31 innings of work. 

The experience that Montgomery had, along with his skill set, would make him a valuable fit for the Phillies. The team could always use starting pitching depth so the bullpen can be lined up to face favorable matchups. However, the postseason success that Montogmery experienced will certainly drive up his price as a free agent. 

Aaron Nola

Aaron Nola is a pitcher that we know all too well. He has been with the club since being drafted in the 2014 MLB Draft as the seventh overall pick. Nola has developed into the first ace-caliber starting pitcher since Cole Hamels. Like him or not, the statistics back up that he can pitch like a high-end number two starting pitcher. 

His 2023 season and 2023 postseason, statistically on the surface, present that Nola can perform in the moments that warrant the type of payday that he is up for. In the 2023 regular season, Nola had a trying year. The Louisiana native posted a 12-9 record with a 4.46 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 202 strikeouts, and 32 home runs allowed in 193 2/3 innings over 32 starts. 

The postseason was a different story as we saw a more confident and aggressive Aaron Nola. This proved for him to be more successful and valuable in October. Nola was 3-1 in four starts with a 2.35 ERA in 23 innings pitched in the playoffs. Maintaining a constant of this Phillies organization and pitching staff, as well as a pretty good pitcher, wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.

Josh Hader

Josh Hader is one of the premier relievers in Major League Baseball. The tall left-hander has always had amazing stuff that has made him such an elite relief pitcher. Hader mixes his fastball and slider combination to shut down hitters and seal off wins for his club.

Hader’s 2023 campaign was great for the San Diego Padres. He recorded a 2-3 record with a 1.28 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and 85 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings over 61 appearances. 

Hader has been in the MLB since 2017 and is entering free agency for the first time. The Phillies could look into signing Hader to add another devastating arm to their good bullpen. If there’s one thing the Phillies learned this past postseason on the pitching side of things is to have more reliable relievers with more consistent stuff to get big-league hitters out.

The acquisition of Hader would bring that and then some to the Phillies’ bullpen. Teaming Hader with big arms like José Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto, and Orion Kerking would give the Phillies one of the best bullpens in baseball. 

Hader has postseason experience as well. In his career, Hader has appeared in 16 games, posting a 0-2 record with a 1.37 ERA, three holds, and five saves over 19 2/3 innings pitched. Hader’s devastating two-pitch combination is lethal as a late-game, high-leverage option. Something that the Phillies were lacking in the past postseason run and was arguably the difference in elimination and making the World Series.