Ranking the Phillies' last 7 big free agent signings
How have the Phillies fared with their last seven significant free agent signings?
With the Philadelphia Phillies ready to make a huge splash in free agency to retool their roster for the 2024 MLB season, many big names are currently available in the market that could be in their sights.
One of these players is none other than Japanese two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani. With the ability to make valuable contributions with both his hitting and pitching for a ballclub, he remains the crown jewel in this year’s free agent market.
Coming up slightly behind him is the best closer in all of baseball in Josh Hader and former MVP outfielder Cody Bellinger. Obviously, landing any one of these notable free agents could potentially be a franchise-altering move, but at the same time, it could just as easily end up blowing up in their faces if they turn out to be a bust in the end.
Nevertheless, the Phillies have been notorious for opening up the bank vault to make big free agent signings over the past few years. With Dave Dombrowski’s vision that one wins championships with star players, the Phillies have indeed assembled a bunch of stars that make up their current perennial contending roster.
How has the club fared with these significant free agent signings? Let's take a closer look at the last seven bonafide superstars that the Phillies signed to big contracts in recent years, including one that just took place recently, and rank them based on the overall impact that they've had on the team and their success thus far.
No. 7: Trea Turner
Trea Turner, the most recent big free agent signing by the Phillies before Aaron Nola, took place last year. Turner was inked to a massive 11-year, $300 million deal, including a full no-trade clause as part of the contract. He has already proven to be a winner in the past as he helped guide the Washington Nationals to their first-ever World Series championship in 2019.
With his elite combination of speed and power, the Phillies looked to Turner to be a difference maker for the ballclub in the top part of their batting order for the next decade.
However, Turner endured one of the worst slumps of his career as he failed to get much going during almost the entire first half of the 2023 MLB season. It even got to the point where the hometown fans showered him with boos based on his mediocre performance to that point. Fortunately, Turner managed to turn things around in a big way in the second half. In particular, he became the key contributor for the ballclub down the stretch, scoring 44 runs, along with tallying 16 home runs, 42 RBI, and nine stolen bases over the final two months of the season.
He continued to carry that momentum right into the playoffs, leading the charge for the Phillies through the Wild Card and Divisional Series, until finally coming up just short in the NLCS. The Phillies’ faithful got to witness the two sides of Turner in 2023, the disastrous version during the first half of the season, and the All-Star version in the latter half.
For now, it's difficult to determine which version of Turner will show up in 2024, but given his previous successful track record in his nine-year MLB career, one would predict that more than likely the dominant version of Turner will be back next season.
But because this hint of uncertainty remains and given the size of his gigantic contract, he deserves the lowest ranking among the seven on this list, for now, as we can only wait and see how he turns out in the coming years.
No. 6: Kyle Schwarber
When the Phillies signed Kyle Schwarber back during the 2021-22 offseason, he was coming off his best season hitting-wise, posting a .266 batting average and .928 OPS split between the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox. At just the young age of 28 at the time, Schwarber appeared to be hitting his prime with the right approach at the plate, making him a hot commodity.
The Phillies were fortunate enough to win the sweepstakes by signing him to a reasonable four-year, $79 million contract.
However, in his two seasons with the Phillies, he has developed into an Adam Dunn “three true outcomes” style of hitting, as almost half of his at-bats have ended in a walk, strikeout, or home run. As a result, one expects the Jekyll and Hyde experience with Schwarber every time he comes to the plate. He either delivers big time with a home run blast, or he disappoints in a huge way by snuffing out numerous rallies with an ill-advised whiff.
Schwarber still managed to set his seasonal career highs in runs scored with 108, home runs with 47, RBI with 104, and walks with 126 in 2023 with the Phillies. But at the same time, he also posted career lows with a .197 batting average and a whopping 215 strikeouts. Moreover, his atrocious defense has forced the Phillies to move him into a more permanent designated hitter role going forward to minimize inflicting self-damage on the field.
If Schwarber had been a more consistent and reliable hitter during his current tenure with the Phillies, he would certainly have been given a higher rank. But his unpredictability both on the field and at the plate has limited his overall impact on the ballclub to just sporadic flashes of brilliance.
No. 5: Nick Castellanos
Nick Castellanos joined the Phillies during the 2021-22 offseason when he signed a five-year, $100 million deal with the ballclub just a couple weeks before Opening Day in 2022.
Castellanos was coming off a career year with the Cincinnati Reds in 2021, in which he hit .309 with a .939 OPS, 34 home runs, and 100 RBI. In doing so, he became an All-Star for the first time in his career, along with pocketing a Silver Slugger award for his stellar offensive performance.
With Schwarber, Castellanos helped reshape the Phillies’ outfield as they were stacked with two power producers who could easily put up over 60 home runs and 200 RBI combined per season. However, similar to Schwarber, Castellanos’ main flaw in his game is being prone to the strikeout, along with his questionable defense.
In the past two seasons with the ballclub, he has totaled 315 strikeouts in 293 games played, along with -17 DRS in 171 games of action in the outfield. On the good side, at least he could hit for average, as opposed to Schwarber, posting a .268 mark in his two years of service so far with the Phillies.
Castellanos has also been quite a streaky hitter throughout his career. This was particularly evident during the Phillies last two postseason runs in 2022 and 2023. He was the team hero in the NLDS in both seasons, with six runs scored, four home runs and nine RBI in eight combined games.
At the same time, he went ice cold at the worst possible times, as he was a combined 4-for-48 with 21 strikeouts in 13 combined games in the deciding series of both 2022 and 2023. If he could provide more consistency, his value with the Phillies would be a lot higher. But for now, he remains a hit-and-miss player.
No. 4: J.T. Realmuto
When the Phillies first acquired J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins during the 2018-19 offseason, he gave the ballclub its first legitimate star catcher since Carlos Ruiz. With the combination of solid offense and defense, along with effective game calling, Realmuto became a key contributor for the Phillies squad right from the get-go.
After two strong seasons with the ballclub that saw him capture a Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award, along with becoming an All-Star in 2019, Realmuto was re-signed by the Phillies during the 2020-21 offseason to a record-breaking five-year, $115.5 million deal. That amount represented the highest AAV given to a catcher in the history of MLB. For a backstop who was considered to be one of the best all-around catchers in the game, the Phillies believed he was worth the price.
Now three years into his current contract, Realmuto has more or less maintained his career numbers with regards to offensive production each season. However, there was quite a decline in his defensive game over the past season. He went from a Gold Glove season in 2022, where he posted an 11 DRS and threw out 44 percent of base stealers, to a mediocre season in 2023, where he had a -4 DRS along with a whopping 81 bases stolen off of him for a 78 percent runner success rate.
The Phillies will need Realmuto to regain his elite defensive form once again in the coming seasons before the opposition literally “runs” them into the ground and eventually steals victories away from the ballclub. Otherwise, Realmuto has come as advertised so far in his tenure with the Phillies.
No. 3: Aaron Nola
When it comes to Aaron Nola, he has been the heart and soul of the Phillies’ starting rotation for almost the past decade. Ever since making his debut with the ballclub in 2015, he has been through all the ups and downs together with his various teammates during that time and fought hard through it all to the current success they are experiencing today.
In his nine-year career with the Phillies, Nola holds a 90-71 winning record with a 3.72 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, with 1582 strikeouts in 1422 innings pitched in 235 career starts. Among that includes an All-Star appearance, along with being a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award back in 2018. He has also pitched in some important games during the postseason, sporting a 5-3 record with a solid 3.70 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, along with 50 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings of work in nine career playoff starts.
He may not be at the level of dominance as notable aces such as Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, and Max Scherzer, but he had certainly been reliable and consistent enough for the Phillies over the years to be their de-facto ace starter.
It was just recently announced that the Phillies have re-signed Nola to a huge seven-year, $172 million contract that will keep him with the ballclub until he turns 37. For an annual AAV of approximately $24.5 million, it is a great value deal for the Phillies as Nola likely left a few dollars on the table to come back to the only team he has called home for all his career.
But one thing of note was the fact that he had an off year this past season in which he put up an uncharacteristic 4.46 ERA along with serving up a career-high 32 home runs. So hopefully, he will revert back to his dependable form seen previously for the length of his new contract.
Otherwise, if last season is an indication of where Nola is heading in the coming years, the Phillies could be in big trouble. This tiny speck of uncertainty prevented Nola from ranking even higher on this list.
No. 2: Zack Wheeler
When the Phillies signed Zack Wheeler during the 2019-20 offseason, he had already established the fact that he could be a potential front-end-of-the-rotation starter at the time. Whether he could take it to another level to become an ace of a pitching staff was yet to be seen. After all, he posted a respectable 44-38 record with a 3.77 ERA and 1.29 WHIP during his previous five-year tenure with the Mets.
However, ever since joining the Phillies' starting rotation at the turn of the decade, Wheeler has proven to be one of the top pitchers in the game, clearly making himself a co-ace alongside long-time favorite Aaron Nola in the process. In his four years with the Phillies so far, Wheeler has put up a stellar 43-25 winning record with a 3.06 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, with 675 strikeouts in just 629 1/3 innings pitched, including finishing as the runner-up for the NL Cy Young award in 2021.
More importantly, Wheeler has come up huge for the Phillies in the biggest games in the postseason as he has a combined 4-3 record with a 2.42 ERA and 0.73 WHIP with 68 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings of work for his career in the playoffs.
For a contract that has been worth only $23.6 million AAV per season, Wheeler’s outstanding performance has made him one of the best value free agent deals in all of baseball. With only one year remaining on his contract, the Phillies should do their best to keep their ace starter beyond 2024 to fully solidify their rotation for now and in the near future.
No. 1: Bryce Harper
What can we say about Bryce Harper and his glorious times with the Phillies over the past few seasons?
The renowned superstar has maintained close to a 30-HR, 100-RBI pace each year when projected over a 162-game schedule. During his current five-year tenure with the ballclub, he has won an NL MVP award and two Silver Slugger awards, along with being an All-Star for the seventh time in his career.
More impressive is the fact that he even came back early from Tommy John surgery this past season to help make sure he could do the best he could to get the Phillies back into the postseason for a second consecutive year. He was even willing to move to first base from the outfield to maximize the team’s potential on the field and protect his health. He has been a huge difference maker for the ballclub during their two World Series runs in each of the past two seasons, often coming up big at just the right times.
At the age of 31, Harper is heading into the sixth year of his 13-year contract with the Phillies in 2024. With his permanent move to first base to preserve his health, Harper should have plenty left to offer in the coming years for the ballclub.
He'll give the Phillies an extended contention window for at least the next four to five years with high-quality baseball, and no doubt has had the greatest impact on their success during the past few seasons.
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