The Philadelphia Phillies were two wins away from winning the World Series.
Their front office went into a free agency last season to sign Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber.
Now they must go out and find a few more impact players.
The Phillies’ hitters went cold at the worst time and they need to make sure that does not happen again.
Adding more firepower on offense should be a priority.
Here are two moves the NL champions should make as they try to get over the hump next season.
Sign An Elite Shortstop
The Phillies need to make signing one of the top shortstops a priority.
The two names they should target are Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts.
Each of those players is an elite hitter and can make the Phillies’ lineup even more dangerous.
Trea Turner is my first choice too, but let’s be clear- signing Xander Bogaerts would be amazing.
Bogaerts 2018-2022 stats: .301/.373/.508 (.881 OPS), 27 HR and 101 RBI per 162 games
— John Foley (@2008Philz) November 13, 2022
Shortstop is also a position of need on defense.
Adding either of these players will move Bryson Stott over to second base and allow for a better overall defense.
The Phillies need to make a splash and signing one of these star shortstops would be a great start.
Add Pitching Depth
One of the issues the Phillies had in the postseason was their lack of pitching depth.
Both the starting rotation and bullpen could benefit from having more reliable pitchers.
Facing the Astros in the World Series was a huge disadvantage for them because of their lack of starting depth.
Pitching depth is the difference in the series. The Astros literally trust every pitcher they have. Phillies had to keep rolling out the same guys all postseason.
— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) November 6, 2022
After all the Phillies got no-hit by Houston’s fourth starter in the series.
The Phillies’ front office needs to address the pitching this offseason, and hopefully give the team more quality arms.
