It appears like adding a bullpen piece will be the Philadelphia Phillies’ sole remaining offseason move. It doesn’t appear like they will pursue the rumours of being interested in some of the starting pitchers available, as Aaron Nola has already resigned and they are supposedly concentrating on extending their other ace. The Phillies’ small offseason is mostly due to the large salary they will be carrying into 2024 and beyond. They should be chasing a title after qualifying for the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS in 2023, and they have kept their roster loaded with quality to give them the best opportunity of achieving that objective.
That’s why Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report put together a trade proposal that left many scratching their heads. According to him, Philadelphia will give up star slugger Kyle Schwarber to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Brant Hurter, the team’s No. 12 overall prospect. After signing a four-year, $79 million contract with the Phillies in 2022, Schwarber has been an integral member of the team. In consecutive seasons, he has hit 46 and 47 home runs with over 90 RBI.
Miller’s “sign-and-trade” strategy, which would send Schwarber’s $20 million contract to the Los Angeles Dodgers, allows them to sign one of the top pitching free agents remaining on the market, such as Josh Hader, Blake Snell, or Jordan Montgomery.
After Johan Rojas arrived, they might be able to offer themselves a true defensive upgrade in the outfield by moving Nick Castellanos into the designated hitter position and assigning a superior defender to right field. It would be advantageous to have Hurter back in addition to the free agent they may sign. In his second professional season, the 25-year-old left-handed starter made 26 starts in Double-A last year, when he posted an ERA of 3.28. In 118 innings pitched, he also recorded 133 strikeouts against batters. For Philadelphia, this would be a dangerous move that they might not be interested in doing. Their squad would be far worse when the offseason began in 2024 if they traded for Schwarber. Instead, they would need to be quite confident that they could sign one of the best players still available in free agency.
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