Philadelphia Phillies: Five non-tendered free agents they could add
Would the Philadelphia Phillies even consider signing free agents Kyle Schwarber or Adam Duvall this offseason?
The Phillies signing Kyle Schwarber or Adam Duvall would mean one thing: the National League is getting the DH on a full-time basis. The genie is already out of the lamp, the DH should be here to stay. While that’s not set in stone yet, it’s a big bargaining chip baseball can hand to the union by adding 15 new jobs.
Schwarber and Duvall fit into the prototypical DH mold, guys who can crush the baseball 30 times a year but don’t have a natural position on the field. They could muddle their way through playing left field or first base, but they’re a hitter and a hitter only.
Adding the 36 home runs that Schwarber averages per 162 games between Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm would replace the power potentially lost with J.T. Realmuto and supplement the possibility Rhys Hoskins finds his groove again. Having a modern-day murder’s row of Harper-Bohm-Schwarber-Hoskins when hittin’ season comes around would be a nightmare for bullpens.
The big negatives for Schwarber is the aforementioned lack of position plus the cratering batting average as a career .230 hitter coming off a .188 season in Chicago. You’re not signing him to get on base, you’re signing him to pop 30 balls into the right field seats. He’s hit five home runs in Citizens Bank Park in 11 games, the most home runs outside of the National League Central for him.
This is the same story for Duvall, though his batting average is a tick higher at .233 averaging five fewer home runs per 162 games. Might still be able to help a little in left field like Jay Bruce did, but either coming off the bench late in games against righties or hitting in the middle of the lineup four times a week might be his role going forward.
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Both Duvall and Schwarber can’t be relied on every day, but they have the potential to turn a game around with one swing, something the Phillies need more of if Realmuto goes and Hoskins doesn’t find his groove again.
Other non-tendered players to watch: Jose Urena, Hoby Milner, Travis Shaw, Albert Almora Jr., Curt Casali, Nomar Mazara