Phillies Keep Their Eye on the Outfield Before the Winter Meetings
The Philadelphia Phillies have already taken care of their first objective for this offseason heading into the Winter Meetings. They are playing with house money during these meetings because they signed Aaron Nola to a rich seven-year, $172 million contract, while other teams are looking to upgrade. However, the Phillies are still seeking to add players. They may focus on a different position, but they have been connected to other starting pitchers in free agency and the trade market.
Earlier in the offseason, president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, had some interesting things to say about their young outfielder Johan Rojas. “He has to be able to contribute some offensively or else he has to go down (to the minors) and continue to develop. Doesn’t mean we don’t love him. We think he’s a really good player. But we do need more offense than that out of a position,” he said. That’s certainly honest. Rojas struggled immensely at the plate during the playoffs and was only kept in the lineup due to his defense.
However, despite Dombrowski’s remark, there is conjecture that Philadelphia also doesn’t want to deny Rojas or Brandon Marsh opportunities in the event that they discover their bats and become productive offensive players. It appears that they are trying to bolster their outfield in limited positions by adding platoon guys to the squad. Dombrowski doesn’t think it’s an urgent need for the Phillies to solve, but there are plenty of possibilities available for them to find that kind of guy
“We’re in a position where we can just evaluate a lot of different things that we think make our club better. We don’t have really a glaring spot that we need to fill,” he told Matt Gelb of The Athletic. That also makes sense.
