5 Moves the Phillies need to make for the 2023 Season

Photo Credit- AP/Matt Slocum

Let's start off this write up by saying what an incredible run by this 2022 Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. An 87-win team came within 2 games of being able to claim baseball's ultimate title. We saw some great moments along the way, Castellanos with a couple of web gems in right field, Schwarber constantly launching balls to the moon, and of course Bryce Harper's go-ahead home run in the bottom of the 8th inning in Game 5 of the NLCS to knock out the San Diego Padres in 5-games and send the Phillies to the World Series. A lot of late nights and fun moments but unless you win it all, teams will need to make adjustments to their roster and here are my top 5 moves I would like to see this off-season.

TOP TIER STARTING PITCHER

1- The Phillies need a true top of the rotation starter. No disrespect to Zack Wheeler, but he should be your number 2 starter on a championship ball club. We all saw what Aaron Nola is during this run and that is a #3 starter at best. General Manager Dave Dombrowski will have to be creative with this situation. Looking at the free agency class for starting pitching I don't see a starter that I would want to give the ball to Game 1 of the NLDS next season. There are the flashy names available like Jacob deGrom (35) and Clayton Kershaw (35). Those pitchers are past their prime and in deGrom's case, always dealing with injuries. I would love deGrom on the Phils to add depth in the rotation (as a #3 and push Nola to a #4) but I doubt he is taking that kind of role next season. So Dombrowski is going to have to get creative and move a player and probably a prospect to go out and get that stud to be at the top of the Phillies pitching rotation.

BULLPEN HELP

2- The Phillies bullpen was the Cinderella story of the postseason. Rob Thomsons relievers delivered time and time again in the fall, until game 4 of the World Series. When Jose Alvarado came into Game 4 with the bases loaded to face Yordan Alvarez he drilled him with a fastball first pitch, from then on the bullpen went back to its unreliable and nail biting ways. Last off-season I was begging for relief pitchers and when people say "Be careful what you wish for" that came true as we were gifted Jeurys Familia (who was released during the season.) Hopefully a couple of young prospects can fill in the bullpen, or Dombrowski builds a pen like he did in 2018 with the Red Sox.

TRADE RHYS HOSKINS FOR A TOP STARTER/ MOVE SCHWARBER TO 1B

3- This section has some to do with #1 on my list. In the first part of this story I said Dave Dombrowski has to get creative this off-season to get a top start for the Phillies. In my opinion trading Rhys Hoskins, who hit 30 home runs in the regular season and another 6 in the postseason, should bring you back a great pitcher. Hoskins has proven he has power, but has also shown the ability to strike out and not put the ball in play in big moments especially in the World Series. Am I saying moving Hoskins is my first thing to do? No. But having Kyle Schwarber on the roster gives you the flexibility to do so. Schwarber has played first base before and can hold his own at that position, and it's not like Hoskins was going to win a gold glove there anytime soon. Pitching is the most important thing to become a World Series Champion, sacrifice the power you see 75% of the time from Hoskins and boost up the rotation.

GET A CATCHER TO FREE UP REALMUTO

4- You can easily make the argument that J.T Realmuto is the best catcher in baseball. The way he commands the game behind the plate and the chemistry with the staff is incredible, and the offense he brings is top notch. However, during the World Series you heard FOX broadcaster and former MLB All-Star John Smoltz talk about the wear and tear it must be taking on Realmuto for catching so many innings going back into early September just to get the Phils into the playoffs. At one point I believe J.T had 230 innings played more than the guy in second place. Maybe that had something to do with the right hander's slump in the final games of the fall classic, or maybe Houston figured out how to get him out, but I doubt that. The GM will have to go out and get a catcher to come in and build up some chemistry with the starters and relievers like Realmuto has and give #10 games off, especially down the stretch and even in out of hand playoff games. When Realmuto's offense is firing, he provides clutch hits and power, and it fits perfectly into the lineup of what the Phillies want to do.

CEMENT THE LEFT SIDE OF THE INFIELD

5- I am a big fan of Alec Bohm, and even before August I had no clue who Bryson Stott was, but now both players can be huge factors for the local 9 in the future. Bohm has shown he can be a big league third basemen, would I like to see his defense get better? Yes, we all would, and I think it is only a matter of time before his offense starts to go on the rise. Stott is an excellent fielder and for his first cup of coffee in the bigs, we saw flashes from him offensively. What I would like to see is the Phillies move on from Jean Segura and move Stott over to second base. This would be a smart move because Stott doesn't have the strongest arm in the world but he makes the plays and would lighten up the load for the young man. So who plays short? To me it comes down to two names, Xander Bogaerts or Carlos Correa. I WANT BOGAERTS. Xander has won a couple of titles, his most recent back in 2018 with then Red Sox General Manager Dave Dombrowski. What I love about Bogaerts is the way he makes the shortstop position look. He is smooth in the field and his batting is great. He is a line drive hitter, which will help balance out this lineup, but he also has pop in the bat as well. Xander is a career .292 hitter with 156 homeruns. He would bring more veteran leadership in the clubhouse and can also give tips to Stott as he starts to mature and develop. Oh, and I almost forgot, he has a great relationship with Philadelphia GM Dave Dombrowski.

What the Phillies did this season was great. Fired Manager Joe Girardi and replaced him with Rob Thomson and won 8 straight. Made it to the World Series and took the juggernaut Houston Astros, who came into the fall classic not having lost a game in the playoffs, to Game 6 before the magic ran out. As Phillies fans we saw what we have, and as the Phils Owner John Middleton has said, "I want my (bleeping) trophy back!"

- Anthony Varrasso- Olde City Sports Network/Flyers Alley

*Photo Credit-AP/Matt Slocum*