Philadelphia Phillies: 3 ways to fix the defense next season
By Tim Boyle
2. After trading Rhys Hoskins, the Philadelphia Phillies need to add a free agent next winter with above-average defensive skills.
Whether it’s an infielder or outfielder, the Phillies need to be in the market for a good defensive player next offseason. Those guys don’t always cost a whole lot. It usually depends on how well they can hit. Someone who can actually save runs for the team instead of cost them games by throwing the ball away is what they need.
After trading Hoskins, the Phillies should gear themselves toward correcting mistakes from this most recent offseason. That means not trying to add as much offense, instead focusing on their defense.
Bryson Stott plays a huge role into the direction this ball club should head. If they believe he truly is the shortstop of their future, they should avoid signing someone to play this position. Outfield is much more practical given how there are three starters on at least each team. With Mickey Moniak also possibly in the mix in the future, it would still benefit the Phillies to have some insurance.
New York Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo might actually be the perfect player to sign. He has grown a lot as a center fielder in recent years and would bring to the Phillies a lot of what they could use. Even if he ends up in a corner spot more often than not, Nimmo is a tremendous upgrade defensively. He’d also answer a question as to who should lead off for the team as his OBP numbers are some of the best in baseball.
Suddenly, Philadelphia has at least one less burden on defense.