10 free agents the Philadelphia Phillies should still be interested in
By David Esser
Andrelton Simmons, SS
Like mentioned previously, the Philadelphia Phillies had a pretty brutal defense in 2020, which only further exasperated their league-worst bullpen. While the outfield wasn’t great defensively, it was specifically the infield that yielded some of the worst results.
With Didi Gregorius out the door, and Jean Segura potentially being forced to slide back over to shortstop (a position that he really struggled at in 2019), the Phillies infield could end up being even worse defensively this upcoming season.
The easiest way to fix that would be by simply signing one of the best defensive shortstops to ever play. The former LA Angel, Andrelton Simmons has one of the highest defensive WARs in MLB history. He’s won four Gold Gloves and one Platinum Glove, and has routinely impressed with his elite defensive capabilities at SS.
Simmons isn’t nearly as good offensively as someone like Gregorius (career .696 OPS), but he fills a specific need for the Phillies moving forward. It allows the team to give a little more leeway to guys like Alec Bohm, Scott Kingery, and Rhys Hoskins as they all continue to grow defensively.
Just like JBJ, snagging Simmons on a 2-3 year deal could help the Phillies really capitalize upon their perceived “window.”