Thanks for Signing Kyle Schwarber Phillies, Now What Else Will You Do?
By Dylan MacKinnon
The start to the Phillies Free agency period after the lockout ended was slow. Phillies fans were frustrated, and the few signings they made were under whelming. A player fans do not like at all in Odubel Herrera. And then two relievers coming off mediocre seasons in Jeurys Familia and Brad Hand. But yesterday, the finally made the splash fans wanted. They inked LF Kyle Schwarber to a 4 -year $79 million deal. And while Schwarber leaves a lot to be desired with his glove, his bat brings some much needed pop. So thank you Phillies, for going out and landing a much needed power bat. But what else are you going to do?
I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but this is not going to be enough. The Mets went out this offseason and added Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Adam Ottavino, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha. Their rotation is now Jacob DeGrom, Scherzer, Bassitt, Taijun Walker, and Tylor Megill. The Braves lost Freddie Freeman, but they replaced him with Matt Olson. And while that is a downgrade, Olson is still very good. Ronald Acuna Jr will be back from injury. They also signed Collin McHugh, and brought back Eddie Rosario. And oh yea, are the defending champs. The Braves, and potentially the Mets were already ahead of the Phillies, and now they are lapping them. So as much as I like the Kyle Schwarber signing, it is not close to enough.
And it is not just me, Bryce Harper agreed that while it is a great addition, the Phillies need to do more.
“He’s a proven winner everywhere he has gone”
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 16, 2022
“Seeing that the Braves and the Mets are getting a lot better, we have to stay up on that. We are here to win”
“Hopefully we’re not done and we go out and get another guy”
-Bryce Harper on Kyle Schwarber pic.twitter.com/RHuixki0Bb
So what should they do? Well they have about $12 million space left under the Luxury Tax. It is possible Phillies will exceed the Luxury tax, but Middleton has avoided doing that in recent years. More likely, another big move would have to come via a trade where the Phillies can shed some payroll. There has been speculation all off season they might move Didi Gregorius. Doing so would not only open up SS to be played by young prospect Bryson Stott, but shed some payroll. They could either move him just to shed payroll and then make a separate move, or they could swap him for another player.
The Phillies were said to be showing interest in Nick Castellanos. But now with Schwarber in left field, there might not be a spot for him. Castellanos started his career at 3B, but hasn’t played there in years because he was perhaps just as much of a butcher at third as Alec Bohm is. They have the DH now, but Dave Dombrowski said he does not envision the team singing a full time DH.
Any move they make may be one no one has talked about yet. But that is exactly what they need to do. Go out and get another top end starter. Convince the Athletics to send you Ramon Laureano and kill this silly idea of a platoon in center field. Do something. Do anything else. Because right now the Phillies roster is okay, but okay is not going to cut it. So thank you for Kyle Schwarber, but what else are you going to do?
