Philadelphia Phillies can improve the outfield with these 3 free agents

The Philadelphia Phillies should sign Kevin Pillar to platoon in center field and provide depth at all three positions.

The other half of the Pederson platoon is veteran Kevin Pillar. A teammate of Conforto’s in 2021 with the Mets, this once great defender has also turned into more of a corner outfielder in recent years. Center field has still been his primary spot at most of his destinations. On the Phillies, he’d have a realistic shot to even win more starts.

Below is different from Conforto and Pederson in a couple of ways. The only right-handed hitter among the three, he has not been a very good OBP guy throughout his .260/.297/.409 career. Less of a power bat and more of a guy you could expect to rack up doubles, he finished the 2019 season with 37 two-base hits in what was a phenomenal year with the San Francisco Giants I’m not sure anyone saw coming.

Pillar’s 2021 season saw him take on far more playing time than expected with the Mets due to injuries to Conforto and other players. On the Phillies, he would have the role of fourth outfielder and regular starts in center field versus left-handed pitchers. He has hit well against them in his career, slash .280/.312/.459 in over 1,000 career plate appearances.

Conforto in left and either Pederson or Pillar in center field on any given night won’t win the Phillies a championship. It’s a huge step in the right direction, though. It’s the kind of improvement the organization has not made in quite some time.

Their lack of minor league players to trade away puts the front office in a position where they may have to spend in order to get better. All three combined shouldn’t break the bank and could allow the club to further explore how to finally fix their bullpen.