Philadelphia Phillies Rumors: 4 marquee shortstops to pursue next winter
By Tim Boyle
The latest Philadelphia Phillies rumors don’t have a thing to do with the 2022 team. They have yet to set themselves up to buy or sell this summer. The team is playing losing baseball but according to these latest rumors, it doesn’t look like the team is ready to blow it all up.
What are these Phillies rumors? It has everything to do with the shortstop position and their expected pursuit of the top names next offseason.
The team balked at the idea of signing any of the marquee names this past winter. Instead, they gave Didi Gregorious a chance to totally redeem himself. Gregorious has missed significant action thus far in 2022, adding to the poor results he has brought them since first joining the Phillies.
Next winter’s free agent class includes some top names at the position. Ranked from four down to number one, any of these guys should be on the table for the Phillies.
4. Philadelphia Phillies rumors: Dansby Swanson should be the shortstop consolation prize.
Dansby Swanson works for the Phillies under certain circumstances. If the team is going to spend big for a center fielder—Brandon Nimmo possibly being the best in free agency—going with Swanson at shortstop wouldn’t be such a bad move. It has little do with stealing from the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets and more about balancing talent around the field.
Swanson has been a below-average hitter for the Braves with some decent pop. He smacked a career-high 27 home runs for them last year while driving in 88. It was unexpected for a guy who had previously never hit more than 17.
The plus side of Swanson is his age—29 next February—and his defense. Swanson is a good ball player but not the big move the Phillies should make at the position. He’s the kind of guy a much better team should look to add to their roster to bat eighth or ninth. The Phillies, in their rumored pursuit of a free agent shortstop star, should aim much higher.
Fortunately, there are three much better guys to target.