Philadelphia Phillies center field options for the 2022 season
By Tim Boyle

Philadelphia Phillies center field candidates: The slightly better free agent options like Kevin Pillar
With Starling Marte off the market, the Phillies will have to go down a few tiers to find their next center fielder via free agency. One of the better guys out there could be veteran Kevin Pillar.
Pillar spent last year as a part-time player for the Mets. He batted .231/.277/.415 with 15 home runs in 347 trips to the plate. He wasn’t terribly bad as a center fielder but he is long beyond his best days when he was dazzling us all with his glove.
Beyond Pillar, the rest of the crop of free agent center fielders have far less upside. In fact, three of the more highly rated ones are now ex-Phillies. Odubel Herrera, Roman Quinn, and Travis Jankowski are in the group. Who wants to invite any of them back?
One guy I think we all thought would land with the Phillies at some point is longtime New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner. Two straight seasons of hitting in the .220s have likely ended his tenure in The Bronx. Because of his connection to Joe Girardi, I feel like he could end up as a very cheap option for the Phillies next season.
It’s hard to actually defend a move for Gardner in center field, especially when he is aging, not playing good defense, and well beyond his best days. The only way this would be acceptable is if the Phillies go nuts at other positions. Gardner can at least still get on base and provide the club with some leadership and experience. Between him and guys like Moniak or Haseley, he’s surprisingly lightyears ahead.