The Philadelphia Phillies are getting set for an important offseason, and the direction of the team will be interesting to see coming off an early postseason exit.
While the Phillies have been a consistent team in the playoffs the last five years, they have been unable to reach their goals of winning it all. Furthermore, with early exits the last three years, it feels like something could change for the team this winter.
Philadelphia has a veteran core with a lot of players making a lot of money. There are a couple of contracts on the team that are not very desirable based on production, and that could impact decisions for the team.
With a lot of uncertainty about what this winter will look like in terms of the owners and players battling over a new CBA, the Phillies will be hoping to use some internal options to fill gaps and help the team improve.
Internal Options Seem Key
Following some of the comments made by Dave Dombrowski during his year-end press conference, it seems like there is going to be a continued focus on getting some of their young players up to the majors to help.
While Philadelphia hasn’t received a ton of love for their farm system, they do have some good talent that is projected to be able to help in 2027. Of their top prospects, arguably the most likely to help in 2027 is going to be Aidan Miller.
The talented infielder likely would have been in the mix this year if not for a back injury that kept him out for most of the year. However, the back is now healthy, and Miller performed well at the end of the season.
Furthermore, his positional flexibility, being able to play both shortstop and third base, makes him really valuable for what the Phillies might need.
Philadelphia is going to give Trea Turner a chance to prove that he can still play shortstop next year, but his leash is going to be short after coming off a horrible year defensively. Also, with Alec Bohm being a free agent and Miller getting some work in at that position, he could be the starter there.
In addition to Miller, who is the most likely of the internal options, Bryon Rincon could also be another option to help in the infield. Overall, with a desire to improve, the Phillies seem comfortable using some of their internal options in order to do so.
Philadelphia getting a little bit younger is going to be important, and with Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter being brought up last year, it will be interesting to see how many prospects they look to do the same with this coming season.
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