The Philadelphia Phillies finished a good season, winning the division and making it to the NLDS before being eliminated by the future champions in the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, they’re dealing with losing many stars to free agency.
One area they’ll need to address is the outfield. With Harrison Bader becoming a free agent, and Nick Castellanos on the trade block, Fansided’s Christopher Kline believes the Phillies are the top trade candidate for San Diego Padres All-Star Fernando Tatis Jr.
“So, the Philadelphia Phillies need help in the outfield. Harrison Bader is a free agent, Nick Castellanos is an increasingly popular trade candidate, and Justin Crawford can only guarantee so much as a rookie. The Phillies need slugging, especially with Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto both, also, free agents. If Schwarber leaves in particular, that puts immense pressure on Dave Dombrowski to deliver another impact bat. And Tatis' contract, while exorbitant in length, is rather light on annual value at the moment — certainly within Philadelphia's price range. As such, the Phillies are worth keeping tabs on here. Big Dave is overdue for a big swing," Kline wrote.
This past season, Tatis Jr. Slashed.268/.368/.446/.814, with 27 doubles, 25 home runs, 71 RBI, and 32 stolen bases in 155 games. He’s also a two-time Platinum Glove winner, so he could anchor the outfield defensively.
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This also works as killing two birds with one stone. Since the Phillies seem to be moving Castellanos this offseason, making a package around him would give them a stud outfielder while getting rid of one they don’t want.
Hopefully, the Phillies get on this soon. Many other teams will probably call about Tatis Jr. As well, so they need to be first in line to make sure they have a real shot.
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