Philadelphia Phillies: Expect this veteran Yankee to reunite with Joe Girardi

The Philadelphia Phillies, maybe more than anything else, can’t go into the 2022 regular season with their current outfield situation. They need two starters added to the roster and maybe even a bench piece as well.

I’ve outlined three free agents the club should consider signing with the hope of making one the starting left fielder and possibly platooning the other pair in center field. An imperfect and even more unlikely scenario, my gut tells me the Phillies do something far more disappointing.

Free agent outfielder Brett Gardner plans to play ball again in 2022. Given this and less room with the New York Yankees than ever before, a natural fit for him may be a reunion with his old manager Joe Girardi in Philadelphia.

Expect the Philadelphia Phillies to reunite Brett Gardner and Joe Girardi.

The Phillies have done it before. Didi Gregorius and Girardi knew each other from New York. They didn’t get to know each other as closely as I’m sure Girardi and Gardner did. They began their tenure around the same time.

Gardner made his MLB debut back in 2008 when the Phillies were running wild on the National League. He was on the team that would take down the Phillies in the 2009 World Series. He hasn’t played for any other professional organization despite having reached free agent before.

The Yankees have always found a way to fit Gardner on their roster. However, with his game declining further and already 38 candles blown out on his cake last August, they need to think otherwise.

The Phillies should, too. However, with few options out there, particularly in center field, it seems like a natural direction for the club to go and disappoint us all.

Gardner played a lot of center field for the Yankees in 2021. Depending on which defensive metrics you care about most, he was either a little below-average or horrific. He was worth only -0.1 WAR on defense yet had even greater negative numbers in terms of things like Rtot, Rdrs, etc. The Yankees only used him in center field instead of left field (his main position) out of necessity. The Phillies may end up in a similar position unless they can possibly pull off a trade.

One might think that despite the decline in defense—as many players his age will do—offense may not have dipped. This wasn’t the story for the longtime Yankees outfielder. He batted .222/.327/.362. All were new lows for him in a full season.

The role Brett Gardner may be able to provide the Philadelphia Phillies.

Gardner is no longer an everyday outfielder nor should the Phillies even try to sell to their fans that this is what he can be for them. But as a fifth outfielder whose lone purpose is to provide the team with some leadership and emergency starts in center field, it’s not such a tremendously bad idea.

The Phillies are beyond the point of letting their rookies learn for a full season. The moment they signed Bryce Harper, the mission became all about winning. They can take a step back and reassess at some point. Right now, with the reigning MVP on the roster and the Cy Young runner-up, they need to push all of the chips to the center of the table.

There’s a distinctive difference between wanting and expecting something. I want the Phillies to win. I expect my soul to get crushed.

Unless the Philadelphia Phillies front office is sealed up tighter than most, it’s a drag to go through the MLB lockout without any rumors about what their plans appear to be. This leads me to the conclusion that we’re going to get lesser additions and another .500 season is in the works.