The Philadelphia Phillies made the move to reunite with their premier left-handed power bat. They re-signed Kyle Schwarber to a five-year $150-million contract. Schwarber hit career highs of 111 runs, 56 home runs, and 132 RBIs last season. These power numbers put him atop the needs list for all contending teams. The pressure is now off the Phillies' front office to figure out how to replace 56 home runs and a middle-of-the-order bat that is conveniently a left-hander. The team now needs to turn its attention to other prime positions.
At the catcher position, Rafael Marchán will be behind the plate. He's a defensive catcher as he struggled offensively with a.587 OPS, a.230 BABIP (batting average on balls in play), and only hit two home runs over 110 plate appearances last season. However, Marchán wasn't needed much with J.T. Realmuto starting 132 games at the position. The team could use an upgrade behind the plate, which may mean a reunion with Realmuto, but there are plenty of cheaper veteran options.
In center field, the Phillies need to decide if it's time to bring up their number three prospect, Justin Crawford. He's excelled at every level in the minor leagues, posting over a.800 OPS in the past three seasons. He'd bring another left-handed bat to a lineup that is even on both sides of the plate. Crawford doesn't offer any power, but he has speed, making him a prime center fielder. He's only hit 19 home runs over 1,304 at-bats in four minor-league seasons, but he has 145 stolen bases. It may be wise to give him a shot and save their money for other positions.
The Phillies are facing the same decision regarding their fifth starter, with Zach Wheeler set to miss the first couple of months of the season recovering from surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. Their number one prospect, Andrew Painter, is ready for a real crack at the big-league level. Although he struggled in Triple-A last season with a 5.40 ERA over 106.2 innings, he struck out 111 batters. He has a fastball that can touch 100 mph, a curveball, a changeup, and a newly developed cutter. Painter deserves the call-up, and it'll allow the Phillies to focus on upgrading their bullpen, which finished 20th in ERA (4.27) last season.
The bullpen is a massive need this offseason for the Phillies. Right now, they will have three pitchers who struggled in their limited rookie debuts last season. Max Lazar had a 4.79 ERA in 41.1 innings, Nolan Hoffman only threw one inning but had a 27.00 ERA, and Seth Johnson posted a 4.26 ERA over 12.2 innings. Though it was their first experience at the major-league level, the Phillies could definitely use one or two upgrades in the middle innings.
Re-signing Schwarber took a massive weight off of general manager Preston Mattingly's shoulders, but there is still a lot of work for a team that is set to be a contender next season. They are currently set up to defend their NL East division title and hopefully improve on their 2025 NLDS exit.