Philadelphia Phillies: Honest answers to offseason questions

Change is on the horizon for the Philadelphia Phillies.

No matter what team and what sport we’re talking about, the offseason always brings big questions. But the Philadelphia Phillies are in a particularly challenging situation leading into the 2021 MLB campaign, one clouded in uncertainty about where teams will play games and how many fans, if any, will be allowed to attend. Thanks to severe underperformance on the field, the team’s big payroll looms as a major problem. As a result, tough decisions will need to be made.

I’m not saying that these are necessarily the right moves to make. They’re just that the Phillies will end up doing, love it or loathe it. And you’re definitely not going to like some of this.

Will the Phillies re-sign J.T. Realmuto?

More from Section 215

The biggest question of all. No. He’s going to the Mets or Yankees. Sorry. John Middleton’s days of throwing around “stupid money” are over before they started, and the Phillies are not going to give $25-$30 million per year to a catcher who is about to turn 30. And it may not even be up to them, really. If you’re Realmuto, why would you even want to come back to this team?

The Phillies were so proud of themselves when they won their arbitration hearing over Realmuto, and then they never really got serious about trying to extend him. On top of that, Realmuto can’t like the idea of committing himself to four or five years with this Phillies team, one that doesn’t exactly look like an up-and-coming club. He’ll get the money he seeks from someone, and he won’t feel too bad about it.

As for the gaping hole at catcher, the Phillies will roll with Andrew Knapp and a veteran. Knapp may actually not be terrible, but he’s still a far cry from what they’ll be losing in Realmuto. A free agent signing will likely fill the backup role. I sure wish the Phillies hadn’t lost Deivy Grullon for nothing. He would have been worth a look.

How about Didi Gregorius?

He’s gone too. In any other year, the Phillies would extend him the $18.9 million qualifying offer and do their best to bring him back after his bounce-back performance in 2020. He’s likely to get more money than that, however, and the player and club don’t really have any loyalty to each other in this case. Didi looked good this year, but keep in mind that it was only 60 games. Maybe the Phillies wouldn’t even be that wise to commit three or four years to a player who’s about to turn 31 and is coming off a recent major injury.

Owing to this, I fully expect the Phils to move Jean Segura back to shortstop if they fail to sign a free agent to replace Didi. They’ll kick the tires on some guys, but they’re not going to pay big money when they already have a fallback option in house. Nobody said it was a great scenario, but this is how it’ll go.

Will the pitching staff be impacted by the surprise retirement of pitching coach Bryan Price?

They certainly can’t be any worse. While I don’t lay a lot of blame at the feet of Price for the club’s 5.14 ERA (fourth-worst in MLB), I didn’t really see him making a big positive impact. That’s a bit unfair for two reasons: 1.) A 60-game season under these weird circumstances isn’t enough to evaluate someone, and 2.) Ten Leo Mazzones couldn’t have helped this garbage bullpen.

Still, it’s annoying that the Phillies need to find yet another pitching coach after they believed they had shored up the position with Price. I will not begrudge the man for wanting to spend more time with his family, either. But, come on, do you think he would have left this job if the Phillies had finished in first place with excellent team pitching stats? I don’t think so. Just like in any job, you lose a lot of passion for it if you don’t believe you’re making a difference. For Price, the hassle was clearly not worth the results.

Again, I can’t blame the guy. But the Phillies should be better off with a fresh voice who didn’t just live through the nightmare of 2020 with the team. I’d also bet a lot of money that Price will be back on an MLB coaching staff within the next few years once things hopefully return to normal, and he finds something he likes.

Who’s in the rotation?

Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Zach Eflin are obviously locks. Spencer Howard absolutely needs to be in the rotation to begin the year, as it serves no purpose to start him in the minors (if such a thing exists). His first taste of big league action was underwhelming, but he remains a pivotal figure for the Phillies going forward. Young, cheap talent is the name of the game, and so he can’t be babied along.

The injury issues are concerning, yes, but it’s imperative that the Phillies keep pace with other young arms in the division like Ian Anderson and…um…Sixto Sanchez. You can’t expect crazy innings out of Howard next year, but he needs to take a regular turn and start to deliver on the promise we’ve been hearing so much about.

As for the other rotation spot, the Phillies really need to get a left-handed starter into the mix. And I would hope that consists of something better than sticking Ranger Suarez in there at this point. A number of intriguing options are available in free agency, such as Robbie Ray, Jose Quintana, and Alex Wood. These guys all have their own issues, but the Phillies would be well-served to invest some of the money they’re saving (thanks, Arrieta, and Vinny V!) in the back end of their rotation. It’s a crying shame that the organization has no other starters ready to make the leap, but that’s just the sad state of things in Phillies Nation.

Next. Phillies are in danger of wasting Harper's prime. dark

These are far from the only questions that the Philadelphia Phillies will be facing over the next few months, just some of the biggest ones. So let’s all get ready for an offseason that might be immensely frustrating but definitely won’t be boring.

Home/Philadelphia Phillies