Philadelphia Phillies: Starling Marte is a temporary solution in center field

Free agent outfielder Starling Marte is a popular guy. No, he didn’t bring a piece of bubblegum for everyone in the class. He, instead, hit over .300 with two teams last season and swiped over 20 bases for each. He has become a great potential fit for the Philadelphia Phillies to add this winter to help solve their lack of a center fielder.

Remove a few candles from Marte’s birthday cake, and I don’t think there’s a question: the Phillies need to sign him.

However, having celebrated 33 years on this planet this past October, Marte could be one of those speedy outfielders ready to hit a wall. Coming off such an awesome year, he’s going to want a big deal. Is he worth it?

Starling Marte can help the Philadelphia Phillies in center field, but for how long?

Last winter, Jackie Bradley Jr. was one of the hot center field free agents. He was coming off of a productive 55-game season in 2020, which featured a .283/.364/.450 slash line and seven home runs. He ended up signing with the Milwaukee Brewers with disastrous results!

JBJ hit only .163/.236/.261 this past season in Milwaukee in his age 31 season. A different style of player from Marte, I only mention him because this is the big fear with any free agent. What if what we saw one year earlier was a mirage?

The Phillies aren’t exactly cooked if they sign Marte, and he puts together a miserable campaign. If anything, it’s just a repeat of what we have seen in center field.

Marte is definitely going to slow down someday. His 47 stolen bases this past season should top anything else he ever does in his career. Still, he’s the best center fielder available and someone Philadelphia management needs to look at to help improve one of the positions in need of an overhaul most.

As a center fielder, Marte might not be the answer for long. He has never been all that great defensively at the position and showed more signs of decline last season.

Onto more positive thoughts, he is a two-time Gold Glove winner in left field. A temporary stop for the Phillies in center field for 2022 could give them some time to think before eventually moving him over to left field.

Center fielders like Mike Trout are hard to find. Often, you need to take the lumps either at the plate or in the field. Marte has the potential to age poorly as a center fielder. With the possibility of moving him to left field and still getting something close to the lifetime .289/.346/.451 hitter he has been, maybe the key is to find power or speed at another position. What’s up, Trevor Story?