Philadelphia Phillies: 3 ways to fix the defense next season
By Tim Boyle
The current Philadelphia Phillies team is known for a couple of things. One of them is how bad their defense is capable of being on any given slow roller.
This has been an ongoing issue for the ball club. Even their most successful prospects seem to have issues fielding the ball on a regular basis. Rhys Hoskins unfairly stuck out in left field for far too long only to finally find his way over to first base where he has been below average as well.
An ongoing issue for the Phillies, these three moves could help them improve the defense next season. Unfortunately, they are stuck right now crossing their fingers and hoping the pitchers can strike out 27 batters a night.
1. The Philadelphia Phillies can start to fix the defense by trading Rhys Hoskins for a defensive upgrade.
The Phillies shouldn’t simply trade Rhys Hoskins for an all-glove, no-bat guy. However, any trade when the focus is to improve the defense will have a downgrade at the plate. The Phillies should be able to afford to make such a move given how the rest of their roster looks.
Hoskins has been a modern slugger who can hit for good power and draw a ton of walks. Speaking of walking, after the 2023 campaign, he reaches free agency for the first time. Before he does, the Phillies should consider trading him.
On the right team, Hoskins is a great fit. Unfortunately, the right team for him isn’t the one with such a disastrous defense around him.
The Phillies shouldn’t necessarily look to upgrade themselves defensively at first base. Instead, the plan to trade Hoskins should be to allow Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, or Alec Bohm to move there. If they are able to acquire an outfielder, Castellanos or Schwarber should move to first base more regularly. If it’s an infielder, Bohm could move across the diamond.
The Phillies should look to get more than just a light-hitting fielder in exchange for Hoskins. Perhaps a mid-level pitching prospect as well—someone they can use out of the bullpen—would be enough to justify such a move.
And even if they don’t solve everything with this one trade, they do open themselves up for another move.