Categories: Analysis

A quick look at future Phillies free agents

Kyle Schwarber is halfway through a four-year contract with the Phillies. (Cheryl Pursell)

Aaron Nola, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner are all under contract with the Philadelphia Phillies through at least 2030.

Outside of that trio, there’s not a lot of long-term money on the books for the Phillies. There could be some roster turnover in the near future. Zack Wheeler, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber and Ranger Suárez are all free agents in the next two years. The Phillies could lose three key relievers, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and Seranthony Domínguez, to the open market at the end of the 2024 season.

The Phillies are interested in extending Wheeler. Maybe the Phillies reach out to Suárez about an extension at some point over the next two years. Teams can never have enough starting pitching.

Another long-term deal is something Philadelphia would be happy to offer the 33-year-old Wheeler, who has blossomed into a superstar since signing a five-year deal with Philadelphia in December 2019.

The big picture question to think about over the next few years is how long will the Phillies’ current cycle of competitiveness last. The Phillies had the star power to compete for the playoffs from 2019 to 2021, but didn’t have the necessary depth to finish with a respectable record over 162 games. The team finally got over the hump in 2022 thanks to a mixture of good performances from their core as well as the emergence of younger impact talent and quality depth from the minor leagues.

Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh have four years left of team control and should be a big part of the Phillies’ plans going forward. Andrew Painter will likely miss all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he will factor into the plans in 2025. Mick Abel could contribute as early as this summer. Orion Kerkering is a good bet to slot in as a backend reliever for the Phillies in 2024.

The Phillies figure to be World Series contenders over the next two to three years. The window could be extended even further if their model of roster building continues to work. That means the Phillies have to continue supplementing its core of stars under big contracts with younger talent.

That means the Phillies have to know who to keep and who to let walk as the team faces more and more of these bigger decisions. The Phillies will hope that their big bet on Nola’s future pays off. The team either needed to sign him or acquire his replacement through trade or free agency since the team did not have a replacement available internally.

Over the next few years, the Phillies could benefit from having younger players emerge at positions currently occupied by a free agent signing who will come off the books soon. No team wants to be in a position where they are backed into a corner and have to retain an aging player who is a free agent because there are no other suitable alternatives.

But then again, these are all things to think about in the coming years and not now. Right now, the Phillies are in an enviable spot. Outside of a couple bullpen additions, the club can take some time to focus on incremental upgrades — and even shoot for the moon and go after a once in a blue moon free agent like Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Here’s a quick look at upcoming pending free agents for the Phillies through 2027.

Free agents after 2024