How are members of the 2023 Phillies doing on their new teams?
Let's check in to see how some former Phillies are doing in different uniforms this season.
![Former Phillies and current Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5217,h_2934,x_0,y_204/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/6/01hwxbkrhhz4wxte8h0p.jpg)
Every offseason sees plenty of player movement between teams. It's the business of modern baseball, and it's not going to change anytime soon.
Even though the Philadelphia Phillies, with a roster full of veteran stars and established role players, had minimal moves to make this winter, the offseason brought change. New faces came to town while we said goodbye to others. From players who had been with the Phillies for a long time to those who had just a brief stay in the City of Brotherly Love, former Phillies are scattered all around the majors.
So let's take a trip down memory lane and around the league to check in on players who played for the Phils last season.
We'll start with an honorable mention to Oliver Dunn. It's okay if you're unfamiliar with that name. He didn't actually play for the Phillies last year.
The third baseman spent 2023 in Double-A Reading but, after being traded in the offseason, made his MLB debut with the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this month. The 26-year-old has managed to stick with the big league club, playing in 25 games. In 69 plate appearances, he's hitting .231 with a .598 OPS, one home run, five RBI and a pair of stolen bases.
We might as well mention Josh Harrison, too, although there's not much to say. The 36-year-old veteran finds himself still out of a job one month into the season.
After a wildly unsuccessful 41-game stint with the Phillies in 2023, in which he hit .203 with a .554 OPS, he caught on with his hometown Cincinnati Reds this offseason. He appeared in eight spring training games before the Reds came to their senses and released him.
Alright, let's get to it and dig into the rest of the 2023 Phillies who are wearing a different uniform this season.
Jake Cave
The recently departed Jake Cave is now plying his trade with the Colorado Rockies. When he was traded for a bag of cash at the tail end of spring training, he wasn't happy about it — or at least that's how it seemed in his first interview from the clubhouse of the NL West's punching bag.
Cave's time in Philadelphia was brief, lasting just the 2023 season, and he never really got his footing in the Phillies lineup despite mashing when in Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 31-year-old was prepared to take on the same bench role he had last season but became expendable when the team signed Whit Merrifield for a bench role. He's now part of the outfield/bench rotation at Coors Field.
The former Yankees draft pick has appeared in 21 games for the Rockies but has registered just 34 plate appearances. He has found himself with a lot of pinch-running, pinch-hitting and defensive replacement duty. So far, in his limited chances, he has put up his best batting average since 2019, with a .233 mark. Keep in mind he hit .212 with the Phillies last year.
His .627 OPS isn't anything special, and he has yet to run into one in the thin mountain air, with no home runs. He has recorded a double and triple, at least, and has endeared himself to Rockies fans.
It's unfortunate he never got going in Philadelphia, outside of a 19-game stretch in August when he hit .275 with an .870 OPS. But as a minor role player, he didn't exactly leave a gaping hole on the Phillies roster this season.
Bailey Falter
Bailey Falter started the 2023 campaign with the Phillies but was a casualty of the trade deadline. He was shipped off to Pittsburgh for Rodolfo Castro, who was less than useless with the big club last season.
If you need a refresher on Falter's contributions to the team last season, the former fifth-round draft pick appeared in eight games (seven starts) with a 0-7 record and a 5.13 ERA before the team was forced to demote him. At the time, the rotation situation was a far cry from this year's current group of excelling starters.
In his first full season with the Pirates, Falter has seen some early success. Whether it's real or just a case of smoke and mirrors is still to be determined. He's 2-2 through six starts, with a 4.22 ERA, and most of that damage came in two starts, his debut against the Miami Marlins and his most recent outing against the Oakland Athletics — two teams who aren't exactly known for their offense.
In the four outings in between those two starts, Falter had a 1.57 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP, although he still isn't striking out many hitters, with a 6.47 K/9 this season.
He seems to like his new home ballpark, PNC Park. In his two home starts this year, the left-hander has a tiny 0.69 ERA and has held opposing hitters to a .093 average and a .338 OPS.
"When I got traded over here, they told me that they thought my stuff would play really well in this park,” Falter said after the win against the Brewers, per Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I think I've been doing a good job so far."
The highlight of his season has been a seven-inning, eight-strikeout performance against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 23. Then there was his visit to Citizens Bank Park when he held the Phils to one run on five hits, earning the win against his old squad.
Indeed, he has been doing a good job for his new team, and we wish him all the best this season unless he encounters the Phillies again.
Michael Lorenzen
Trade deadline acquisition Michael Lorenzen had about as impressive of an introduction to the Phillies faithful last season as you could imagine. His decline was just as sudden and impressive.
Lorenzen famously threw a no-hitter in his home debut for the Phillies. It was just his second start with his new team after coming over from the Detroit Tigers. His first outing was no joke either. He compiled 17 innings of two-run ball in his first two starts, but that's when things went downhill. He fatigued as a starter and ended up in the bullpen. He finished with a 4-2 record and a 5.51 ERA as a Phillie.
The 32-year-old didn't get much attention from teams in the offseason. He didn't sign a contract until March 21, when he inked a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers. When he finally took the field on April 15, his Rangers debut was impressive, considering his quick ramp-up to the season.
The right-hander tossed five innings of shutout ball against his other former team, the Tigers. He struck out four while scattering three hits and somehow worked around five free passes. He has made three more starts since then.
Lorenzen held the Atlanta Braves to three runs on three hits over six innings while striking out seven. He then gave up five runs on six hits with just three strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds. Most recently, he threw a six-inning quality start against the Kansas City Royals.
Through 23 innings over his four starts, Lorenzen has a 3.52 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP and a much-too-high 4.70 BB/9. The Phillies are probably glad they didn't bring him back as pitching depth this season, especially with how Spencer Turnbull has turned out.
Craig Kimbrel
Craig Kimbrel, everyone's favorite scapegoat, moved to the AL East in the offseason after his lone season in Philadelphia. He signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles, who hold a club option for next season. They had to sign a legitimate closer after losing Felix Bautista to Tommy John surgery last fall.
Given how his short tenure with the Phillies ended, it's probably for the best that he's in a different league now. He can give the Orioles and their fans the full Craig Kimbrel experience far away from Citizens Bank Park.
He went a perfect 14-for-14 in first-half saves opportunities, with a .171 batting average against and a nasty 39.3 percent strikeout rate. He even earned his 400th career save on May 26. But his struggles down the stretch and the eventual postseason collapse will forever mark his time as a Phillie.
Now playing for another World Series contender, the 35-year-old was having a good start to his season until just recently. After blowing his first save opportunity with his new club, he reeled off seven straight saves with 15 strikeouts in 10 appearances. He allowed only four hits, two walks and one run across those 10 games.
However, his last two outings were Kimbrel-esque disasters, as he has been hobbled by back stiffness. He blew back-to-back saves against the prolific offensive juggernaut known as the Athletics last weekend. He gave up a run on two hits and three walks, recording just one out in the first appearance. He then went back out two days later and gave up a two-run home run to blow his third save of the year.
After those last two outings, he has a 3.18 ERA, a 3.14 FIP and a 1.24 WHIP with his seven saves and a 3-1 record.
Rhys Hoskins
Finally, we arrive at beloved former Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins. The former Phillies fifth-round draft pick was part of the core that survived the dark days and helped usher in the recent winnings ways in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, as we know, he was essentially forced out when Bryce Harper took over first base full-time.
With no room on the roster for a slugging first baseman or DH, with Kyle Schwarber holding that spot, the Phillies sadly had to let Hoskins walk in free agency in the fall. Luckily, he landed on his feet with the Milwaukee Brewers. He signed a two-year, $34 million contract in January.
Hoskins has been exactly what the Brewers thought they were getting when they signed the 31-year-old. He's hitting .229 with a .776 OPS, six home runs and 18 RBI in 29 games. Hitting in the middle of the Brewers lineup, he has helped his new team to a 20-11 start and first place in the NL Central.
He has noticeably started the season with a lower strikeout rate than he had during his time with the Phillies. His current 21.3 percent strikeout rate is five points better than his 2022 mark and is the lowest of his career. He has 26 strikeouts and has walked 12 times.
Hoskins also brought his hatred of the Mets (subscription required) with him to his new club. He made headlines on opening weekend in New York when the benches cleared after he took out second baseman Jeff McNeil with a hard slide. In his first game, he immediately endeared himself to his teammates and Brewers fans when he hit McNeil with the classic "crybaby."
The benches clear between the Mets and Brewers after Jeff McNeil takes exception to a hard slide into second base from Rhys Hoskins pic.twitter.com/NN4ee8ea0Y
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 29, 2024
You can take Rhys out of Philly, but you can't take the Philly out of Rhys, apparently. As much as his former teammates and fans miss him this season, with the Phillies off to a 22-11 start, things are going okay without him so far.
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