The Philadelphia Phillies are hoping to make a deep postseason run for the third year in a row and would like to cap it off with a World Series championship this time.
Holding the best record in Major League Baseball for much of 2024, this edition of the Phillies has reigning All-Stars throughout the roster. But if there is one area of the offense that’s lacking power, it would be the outfield.
The left- and centerfield spots have largely been manned by Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, Weston Wilson and Cristian Pache this year, without much success at the plate. The team traded Pache to the Baltimore Orioles and got outfielder Austin Hays back, hoping he’d provide an offensive boost, but a kidney infection kept him off the field for much of the second half.
So the team might reassess their outfield this winter. In that case, Bleacher Report’s Erik Beaston predicted they will again turn to a former Orioles player to add some offense by signing slugger Anthony Santandar.
“The Phillies are an intriguing option in that they have power bats, which a team can never have enough of, but could use him as an upgrade in the outfield, even if it means switching to left field as Nick Castellanos already has the right side on lockdown,” Beaston wrote. “Prediction: Santander heads north and signs with Philly as the NL East champs get (talent) richer.”
After eight seasons with the Orioles, Santander is set to hit free agency coming off of his first career All-Star nod and a 44-homer campaign. He signed a single-year, $11.7 million to avoid arbitration and return to the Orioles this season, but looks to be in line for a much larger contract moving forward.
Beaston’s colleague at Bleacher Report, Zachary Rymer, projected a four-year, $60 million deal for the 29-year-old.
“He’s one of those guys who’s more in between good and great than one might realize,” Rymer added. “Out of every hitter who’s come through MLB over the last four seasons, he’s one of only 14 with at least 120 OPS+ and 75 home runs.”
The Phillies might have additional slugging power ranked pretty low on their priorities list this winter, particularly as a pair of key bullpen arms in Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman are heading for free agency as well. But if they can find room for Santandar’s salary, he would answer their only real offensive question in a big way.
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