Bryce Harper To Stick At First Base Going Forward

One of the first things the Phillies had to figure out this offseason was where Bryce Harper would play going forward. For his whole pro career, Harper had played outfield. But an elbow injury kept him out of the field for all of 2022, and out of the outfield last season. And while he awaited to be cleared to make the throws needed to play Outfield, he made a move to first base for the second half of the 2023 season. It went far better than expected for a guy who had no experience playing first. And it created the question, would Harper stick at 1st, or move back to the outfield. Apparently we have our answer. Dave Dombrowski spoke to Bryce Harper, and they decided he will play 1st Base going forward. Pete Abraham of MLB Network was the first to report.

The decision has a lot of implications for the Phillies past just Bryce Harper. For one, as Sean Kane pointed out, it means Rhys Hoskins time with the Phillies is over. There was some thought he could return if Harper went back to the OF. But now there is no place for him to play. Harper is at 1st, Kyle Schwarber is the DH, and we don't ever need to see Hoskins in the OF again.

But it also opens up some room in the OF going forward. A lot of the Phillies best prospects are out there. We saw Johan Rojas last year. They also have Justin Crawford who could be closer than most think if he continues to play at the high level we saw from him last year. And Carlos De La Cruz has impressed the team as well.

Now that they have that piece of the puzzle figured out, the Phillies can move onto the rest of their offseason. Their next decision will likely revolve around Aaron Nola, Do they keep him, and if not, who do they get to replace him?

The season is over, which means the MLB offseason has begun. There are still a few days until things kick off properly. But by this time next week, we could start hearing about moves being made. Usually, it takes a bit longer than that for things to start. The MLB is not the NFL or the NBA where things immediately kick into 5th gear and we get rapid-fire moves on the first day of free agency. But we can at least move on from talking about everything the Phillies did wrong this post-season, and begin talking about what they should do to fix it.

And the Phillies do have a lot of work to do. Namely, what do they do with Aaron Nola? The Phillies' longtime and often frustrating starter is set to hit Free Agency. And if you believe what Jayson Stark has been saying, he is going to get paid. If not by the Phillies, then by someone else. Do they give him the money he wants? If not, how do they replace him?

They also have to decide if they want to keep this same lineup going forward. All 9 guys who played every day in the playoffs are under contract. But do they want to bring back the same lineup after how poorly they hit in the final games of the NLCS? Or should they shake things up? And what about Rhys Hoskins? After missing all of last season, he is set to be a free agent, but do they want to bring him back? If so who does he replace? The Phillies have to figure all of this out, and soon. But before that, let's get to know some of the important dates coming up in the MLB offseason.

There is a lot going on November 6th. It is the last day teams can pick up options on their players. It is also the deadline to give impending free agents a qualifying offer. The Phillies will have a few guys that have to weigh that for, including Rhys Hoskins. But most importantly, it is the official start of Free Agency. But it is not like the NFL or NBA, where the second free agency starts we start getting news. It may take months for some guys to sign.

GM Meetings are not quite as busy as the Winter Meetings. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss things like rule changes. But when you have all 30 GMs in one place, there will of course be trade talks as well. There will likely be at least a few minor deals worked out in this team. Bigger moves may not happen until December though.

The 14th is the final chance players have to accept qualifying offers. In most cases, players wont accept them. It is leaving money on the table. But Rhys Hoskins is the type of guy who could maybe accept it given his situation. Get decent money for 1 year, then try to get the big deal after a bounce-back year. Aaron Nola on the other hand will reject it outright because there is going to be a big multi-year deal out there, whether it is from the Phillies or someone else. The Phillies still need to offer it though, so they get some form of compensation if he does leave.

Team have to decide which eligible players they will protect from the Rule 5 draft by 6pm E.T. on November 14th. Eligible players are any College Player drafted Before 2020, and any High School player or International Player drafted or signed before 2019. Last year the Phillies protected Johan Rojas. Mick Abel will be newly eligible, and will have to be added to the 40-man roster to be protected.

The Owners Meetings are not usually a source of Hot Stove News like the GM or Winter Meetings. Owners are not as active in those types of decisions as GMS are. But there will be one huge topic discussed at these Owners Meetings, the vote on the A’s proposed move to Las Vegas. There is no reason to suspect they will vote no. But it is something interesting to follow. They need to get 22 of the other 29 Owners to vote yes for the move to be finalized.

The 17th is the deadline for teams to non-tender Arbitration or Pre-Arbitration players. You do not have to finalize a contract with these players, but you have to at least offer them a contract so negotiations can start. If a team decides they just don’t want the player, they can non-tender them, and they will become free agents. It is what happened with Cody Bellinger last year. The Phillies have a decent amount of eligible players this season, so we will see if they do decide to non-tender anyone, but there were no notable players they non-tendered last season.

This is not when votes are cast, just when the ballot is released. Jimmy Rollins will be back on the ballot after receiving votes on 12.9% of the ballots last year. But it will also be the first year Chase Utley is on the ballot. Will either have luck? The Sabermetric people love Chase Utley, so maybe he will get more votes than we would think. But Jimmy absolutely deserves more love for what he did compared to other Hall of Fame Shortstops. Just go ask Pat Egan and he will make the case for why J Roll deserves to be in the Hall.

This is when the offseason kicks into high gear. There will be some moves before the date, but the Winter Meetings are always the busiest time of the offseason. Every GM and Agent will be there discussing trades, contracts, and more. It is 4 days of nonstop Hot Stove news. Teams trading players, players signing with teams. It's the best part of the Baseball season that does not involve a game being played.

The MLB went the way of the NBA and NHL and instituted a Draft Lottery. All 18 teams that missed the playoffs have a shot at the number 1 pick. The Athletics have the best chance at 18.3%, but the Royals, Rockies, and White Sox all have at least a 10% chance too. As a postseason team, the Phillies won’t be part of that draft lottery. They are already locked into the 27th pick.

The Phillies have in the past found some important players in the Rule 5 draft, notably Shane Victorino. Any eligible player not protected on the 40-man roster can be selected. But the catch is that player has to remain on the MLB roster for the full season, or he is returned to the original team. The Phillies selected Noah Song last year, but never added him to the roster, so they sent him back.

January 12th is the deadline for players and teams to file the salary figure they want in Arbitration. If the two sides agree, obviously a contract is signed. If not, then the negotiation will continue. The two sides don’t have to agree by this date, they just each have to submit some figure. Negotiations can continue after this date all the way up until arbitrations hearings start, in which case a 3rd party will then set the number.

At 9am E.T. teams can begin signing international players. This is different than the bids that will happen for big names out of Japan get posted. This is mostly young guys from around the World looking to get into the MLB, and all of them will first go through the Minor League system like any prospect. Here are who are considered to be the best International Players making the leap this year.

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/2024/international/

At 6pm E.T. the 2023 class will be announced. As already mentioned, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley are notable Phillies on the ballot. Todd Helton just missed getting in last year. And names like Adrian Beltre, and Billy Wagner, also stand a decent shot of getting in.

Any Arbitration eligible players who could not agree to a deal with their team, will start going to a Panel starting January 29th. Most agree to a deal before it gets there, but there are always a few that can’t come to an agreement and require Arbitration. Big names like Corbin Burnes and Max Fried went there last year. And JT Realmuto went there with the Phillies a few years ago.

We do not yet have official dates for when Training Camp will start. Every team sets their own dates. But at some point, in February, Pitchers and Catchers will report, followed shortly by the rest of the team. What the Phillies will look like at that point we don’t know.

Not too long after training camp starts, Spring Training will begin. The first game is scheduled vs the Blue Jays on the road, and then the next day they play their first game in Clearwater at BayCare Ballpark vs the Yankees.

And then finally the season is set to begin on March 28th. All 30 teams will be playing. The Phillies start the season at home, with the braves coming to town for a rematch of the NLDS.