Philadelphia Phillies: 5 free agent bench bats worth giving a contract
By David Esser
With contracts now worked out for both J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius, the Philadelphia Phillies can now turn to improving a piece of their roster that has been weak for quite some time: the bench.
Even with the universal DH being present last season, the Phillies really struggled to find elite difference makers to bring off their bench. Guys like Jay Bruce and Phil Gosselin showed flashes at times, but for the most, the Phils 2020 bench was an underwhelming group of players.
However, with the free agency market still filled to the brim with talent (due to minimal league-wide spending) the Phillies are in position to add a really strong bench piece to their steadily improving roster.
The Philadelphia Phillies still need to add a reliable bench bat of sorts.
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With that in mind, there are five names that really stick out to me:
Marwin Gonzalez, INF/OF
A name that the Philadelphia Phillies were actually connected to on Tuesday by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury, Marwin Gonzalez would fill a lot of roles for the Phils.
He can virtually play anywhere on the diamond, as he’s taken a significant number of reps at every defensive position possible (outside of catcher and pitcher of course). Gonzalez is also a bit of a seasoned veteran when it comes to postseason experience, as he played a key role on the World Series winning Houston Astros team of 2017.
Gonzalez’ career slash line is nothing special (.261/.317/.413) and he really struggled this past season for the Minnesota Twins (.211 batting average), but the value that he would bring to the team in terms of his defensive versatility cannot be understated. Definitely a player worth handing some money over to.