Philadelphia Phillies: 5 free agent bench bats worth giving a contract
By David Esser
Mitch Moreland, 1B
If the Philadelphia Phillies are specifically looking for some power off the bench – a player who they can turn to during crucial pinch hit scenarios – Mitch Moreland wouldn’t be the worst guy to end up with. A lefty slugger who has put up big home run numbers in the past, having him as a go-to name off the bench could prove beneficial for the Phillies in 2020.
A former Boston Red Sox who also has a connection to Dombrowski, Moreland is coming off a 2020 campaign that had two completely different vibes to it. He was hitting .328 with a 1.177 OPS for Boston at the start of the year, before being traded to San Diego at the deadline where he hit just .203. Despite his proven track record and strong form at the time, Moreland definitely ended up not being the impact-level bat that the Padres were hoping for.
Like a lot of the guys that are currently on the Phillies roster, the vision with Moreland is that he would “bounce back” in 2021. He’s proven to be a guy who can display some serious power at the plate, and potentially sliding into more of a reserve role could take some pressure off him moving forward.
Throw in the fact that Rhys Hoskins is rehabbing from a torn UCL, and the concept of bringing in Moreland on a cheap, one-year deal definitely checks out on paper.