Philadelphia Phillies: 3 sneaky good free agent signings to make

The Philadelphia Phillies could “win” free agency with these three signings.

The Philadelphia Phillies are in a seriously tricky spot heading into the 2021 season.

The roster has an abundance of holes to fill, the owner doesn’t want to spend money, their farm system is bare, and they’re losing a handful of guys that played crucial roles in 2019 and 2020. Even if both JT Realmuto and Didi Gregorius end up re-signing with the Phils this winter, the team would still be multiple pieces away from being a legitimate World Series caliber roster.

With the MLB’s crashing revenue in mind, the Phillies may opt to “play the margins” this offseason. Instead of splashing huge on guys like George Springer and Trevor Bauer, they might target low-risk/high-reward type players instead.

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If the Phillies do choose to go that route, here are three players that stick out as potential sneaky good signings:

Jake Odorizzi, SP

In 2019, Jake Odorizzi was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. He went 15-7 across 30 starts, logged a 3.51 ERA, and was selected to his first career All-Star game. Odorizzi accepted a one-year/$17.8 million qualifying offer following his dominant 2019 campaign, returning to the Minnesota Twins for the 2020 season.

Unfortunately, Odorizzi missed most of this past season as he battled a chest contusion and a finger blister. The good news, however, is that none of these should in theory affect his longterm pitching ability.

After a full offseason’s worth of rest and rehab, Odorizzi should be set to return to 100% in 2021. The right-hander’s asking price will likely be on the lower side, which makes him a prime candidate to buy on due to his upside.

Tossing him a 1-2 year deal worth around $10 million could prove wildly beneficial for the Phillies starting rotation, potentially solidifying their #3/#4 spot moving forward. Instead of overpaying for one of the top arms in free agency, the Phils could snag themselves a soild middle-of-the-rotation arm on the cheaper side.