2026 Phillies Impact Prospects - #7-#12 and Honorable Mentions

The 2026 Phillies season presents as one of transition - while the team clearly intends to contend for a World Series, there looks to be several rookies that will play a large role on the team. With that in mind, now might be a good time to see which prospects could have the biggest impact on how well the 2026 season goes.

Honorable Mentions:

There were a few guys that didn’t make my top 12 that I think are worth talking about. First, guys like Keaton Anthony, Wen Hui Pan, and Yoniel Curet could have an impact this year, but I don’t think any will play much or have a massive impact. Names like Dante Nori, Aroon Escobar, Moisés Chace, Carson DeMartini, Devin Saltiban, Cade Obermueller, Mavis Graves, and Griff Burkholder could be potential trade pieces, but didn’t feel as likely to move, or as likely to have big value in a trade as some of the other guys in the system I felt like highlighting.

#12 Matthew Fisher

Very rarely does a team make a 7th round pick and have that guy in immediate top 10 prospect consideration, but that’s where phenom Matthew Fisher sits. Athletic with upside of multiple plus offerings, Fisher, 20 in March, could be a guy who starts strong in the pros and quickly boosts his trade value, or plays his way deeper into long-term organizational pitching plans. It’s not unheard of after all for mid-round HS hurlers to quickly rise up prospect boards, a la Travis Sykora (2023) and Noah Schultz (2022). Fisher probably doesn’t have the same projection as either of those guys, but he has a shot to pop early.

#11 Alex McFarlane

Drafted in 2022, the Phillies tried to make Alex McFarlane work as a SP until midway through last year, before pulling the plug and moving him to the pen, a location most scouts figured he’d end up in eventually. His numbers out of the bullpen weren’t amazing, but he did make his way to AA and onto the MLB roster. McFarlane isn’t MLB-ready right now, but he makes this list because he has a decent shot to be in AAA midway through this season, and his upside could make him more than just a “show-me” arm down the stretch.

#10 Andrew Walling

It’s a bit difficult to get a gauge on Walling as a prospect. Matt Winkelman has him at 36th on his prospects list this year, and he’s really the only one that has him ranked anywhere, which feels odd. The stuff doesn’t pop as much as McFarlane, but he wins the tiebreaker for 10th because of his closeness to the Majors, plus being a lefthander, which should be useful considering the general lack of LHP depth on the team and in the system, especially after the Matt Strahm trade. It’s hard to really expect more than “third lefty” stuff from Walling, at least right now, but on a team whose 4th lefty options are non-roster guys who may not even be in the system by the start of the season, he’s certainly in position to play a role for the team if needed.

#9 Ramon Marquez

It’s been a bit since the Phillies had a nice pop-up prospect, but Ramon Marquez could be that guy. A bargain-basement signing in the 2025 signing period, the 19 year-old hurler advanced directly to stateside ball before finishing the season at Clearwater. Along the way, he turned heads and was named amongst the best prospects in the FCL. He has an athletic and projectable build and good offerings already, which could see him pop expediently. I have him ahead of Fisher here because of having a year of pro experience on him, and he seems like he might have more projection. Similarly to Fisher, Marquez could quickly build up trade interest, or simply make the Phillies more comfortable trading other hurlers in the system.

#8 Alan Rangel

Alan Rangel’s one of the more slow-moving prospects that I can think of that you could also still argue is a prospect to watch. For the most part, his pro career has been nondescript, though it has taken a few turns in recent years, as he went from Atlanta’s 40-man roster, to the Angels system in free agency (where he still generated some prospect attention), to the Phillies 40-man by the end of that same year. His ceiling isn’t that high, but Rangel is MLB-ready right now, and he showed well as a reliever last year - a role he’s long been suggested as a potential plus in. It wouldn’t be shocking if he pops if given a long look in the role.

#7 Zach McCambley

Zach McCambley leads the way amongst presumptive relievers on this list for the obvious reason of being a Rule 5 pick and needing to stick on the roster to stick in the organization, but his offerings certainly play a role too - enough to have him as a member of the top 30 from most prospect boards. His fastball isn’t great, but effective, and his secondary offerings are very interesting. That all is enough to suggest he can be a low-leverage arm right now, but some evaluators believe he could see higher-leverage innings down the line. All of this is enough to suggest he should be given a spot to lose in ST. The Phillies haven’t carried a Rule 5 player this far into the offseason since Noah Song in 2023 (admittedly a bit of a special case), and prior to that, Tyler Goeddel in 2016, so it stands to reason they like him enough to think he’s got a legitimate shot at making the team.

2025-26 Phillies Offseason Plan

The Phillies are once again in a transitional period, still very talented and intending to contend next year, but needing to make moves, with Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Ranger Suarez, and others set to be free agents. The good news is, they’ll have space to work with to make moves. In this exercise, I’ll be working with the upper tax limit (ie, $60 million over the first luxury tax) as a budget to remake the Phillies roster for 2026. The following details the moves I would make.

Arbitration:

• Retained:

• Luzardo ($10.4 million)

• Sosa ($3.9)

• Bohm ($10.3)

• Marsh ($4.5)

• Durán ($7.6)

• Stott ($5.8)

• Banks ($1.2)

• Marchán ($1)

• Non-tendered:

• Stubbs

• Total Cost: $44.7 million

Nothing crazy here. I think there’s a case for tendering Stubbs on a split contract, but he’s out of options and probably isn’t making the team either way.

Options:

• Declined:

• Alvarado

• Other payouts:

• Bader (declined mutual option; $3 million buyout)

• Total Cost: $3.5 million

The Phillies pay a $500,000 opt out for Alvarado, and a $3 million buyout for Bader’s declined mutual option.

During the writing of this, the Phillies picked up Alvarado’s option. This basically factors in as a $500,000 increase from the projected payouts I was going to have Alvarado get, per below.

Free Agents:

Josh Naylor - 3 years

• 2026 - $22 million

• 2027 - $22 million

• 2028 - $22 million

I know, I know, it’s not the flashiest headliner to replace Kyle Schwarber, but let me get into the weeds a bit. Firstly, I think the more and more I look, the more ill-advised a $30+ million replacement for the Schwarber spot is. Beyond that? I’m not crazy about the options. Cody Bellinger will get too much for my taste, IMO. Gleyber Torres is meh. Trent Grisham will get more as a great CF than I’d like to give him as someone who had a massive outlier season.

Enter: Josh Naylor. Coming into last season, Naylor was a Guardians cast-off more or less on a prove-it deal with Arizona. He was great for Arizona, providing a balanced approach at the plate, but also while mixing in something unexpected - opportunistic base-stealing, setting his career high for steals before the deadline. Granted, it was just 11, but what happened in Seattle was astonishing - he went 19/19 on SB attempts after the deadline.

I don’t expect Naylor to steal 30 bases again next year, but in the last three seasons he’s done something quite impressive - .300 average in 2023, 30 HR in 2024, and 30 steals in 2025. All told, he’s averaged .280/.341/.468 with 17.7 steals the past three seasons. That balanced offensive output could really help this team, and he’s still got plenty of prime left (he’s nearly a year younger than Alec Bohm, set to turn 29 in June). While not versatile, he’s fine at 1B, and can get Harper off his feet a bit, something I’d love out of the team’s next DH. That all sets up for a decent mid-term contract that gives Naylor a nice payout, but also the ability to re-test the market at 31 and earn another nice payout. I would also run this deal to 4 years if need be. Irregardless, the point about what he brings to the team remains the same - he adds some extra speed to the lineup while also still providing serious value at the plate all while affording the team some extra money to spend elsewhere.

Kazuma Okamoto - 4 years

• 2026 - $15 million

• 2027 - $15 million

• 2028 - $15 million, opt-out

• 2029 - $15 million

There is a certain math problem you have to do when you think about what this team says they will do, will have to do, and could do in the 2025-26 offseason. With a need to retain J.T. Realmuto, replace or retain Kyle Schwarber and Ranger Suarez, and with the past rumors of Alec Bohm being on the move, it’s hard to imagine a big upgrade at two starting lineup positions. Well, there is one way. Enter Kazuma Okamoto, star 3B for the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB. A power-hitting menace for the Giants for the past ten years, Okamoto brings a special blend of offensive potential that could entice the Phillies. A capable RH 3B who hits for power but doesn’t sell out, Okamoto is coming off his best (albeit abridged) season in the NPB. This move is a risk, given Okamoto isn’t proven in the MLB, but there isn’t much better upside you could get for what speculated prices for his service come out to (somewhere in the 4 years, $15 million AAV range). I’d say the risk is worth taking.

J.T. Realmuto - 2 years

• 2026 - $15 million

• 2027 - $15 million

Nothing crazy here. The Phillies need J.T., and Philly is a good spot for him. $15 feels a tad rich, but I didn’t think he’d get 3 years, and didn’t want to get too sweetheart on a 2 year deal.

Harrison Bader - 3 years

• 2026 - $12.5 million

• 2027 - $12.5 million

• 2028 - $12 million, with incentives for games played and opt-out

I tend to believe Harrison Bader won’t be the player he was in 2025 going forward. However, he did provide serious value in what he brought to the Phillies OF as a strong defender in CF who could take some heat off of Brandon Marsh. His contract feels like a tricky one, but I feel like a slight raise on his option with term could work out. He might get more in a market with less depth, but this offseason there’s some real options in CF with Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger out there. They could draw some FA interest away from Bader.

José Alvarado - 1 year with option

• 2026 - $7 million

• 2027 - $7 million team option with vesting player option at $9 million at 60 IP

The Phillies have already picked up Alvarado’s option, but as I noted above, I would have tackled the situation differently, letting him walk and agreeing to a more team-friendly deal. It’s a fairly negligible change in the financials in the end anyway.

Ryan Helsley - 1 year

• $7 million

Helsley had a tough 2025 season, there’s no denying it. Even with how much he struggled in New York, he was still less than stellar in St. Louis earlier on in the year. How much that depresses his value remains to be seen, but there’s reason to believe a one-year prove-it deal would be of interest to Helsley, and we know the Phillies like this sort of deal. While there’s shades of Romano, I tend to believe it would be hard for this to go worse, and they should hopefully have some safety nets in place this time.

Caleb Thielbar - 1 year

• $6 million

Speaking of safety nets, here’s one in the steady Caleb Thielbar. It’s a lot of lefties, I’ll cop to that, but Thielbar’s been a fascination for a while whose 2025 may have been his best campaign yet.

Michael Lorenzen - 1 year

• $5 million

It ended bad last time, but Michael Lorenzen could be just the insurance policy the Phillies need with Zack Wheeler likely to miss a decent chunk of next season. Lorenzen is coming off a tough season, but was quite good as recently as 2024. Either way, I wanted to get a starter who has past success out of the bullpen who could move there when Wheeler comes back, or another starter comes up, Like Lorenzen or Nick Martinez. There are reasons to think Lorenzen could bounce back and be more than just a fill-in too - his K rate was a new career best for him as a SP last year, as was his walk rate.

Anderson Espinoza - 1 year, split contract

• $1 million in Majors, $700,000 at AAA, opt-out of arbitration

Anders Tolhurst - 1 year, split contract

• $820,000 in Majors, $300,000 at AAA

I love the idea of trying to entice NPB and KBO guys to come over and pitch in depth roles as low-risk moves. Espinoza you may as having been a big prospect years back, but even now, he’s still just 27. His numbers the last few seasons in the NPB are decent if not spectacular - a good middle-ground to where he could provide value as SP or RP depth, but not cost much. Tolhurst, meanwhile, was a mid-season pickup that helped the LG Twins to a league title. His contract status for 2026 is undetermined, but he did well in a hitter-dominated league, and has experience in the minors in both a SP and RP role. We assume both would be paid as MiLB players for this calculation.

2026 tax calculation: $91.33333333 million

Trades:

Alec Bohm and Weston Wilson to the Angels for Chase Silseth and José Fermín

• Silseth and Fermín are pre-arb players, Bohm’s 10.3 million is moved.

The Phillies clearly want something different from the 3B position. The aforementioned Okamoto move gives the Phillies a capable and balanced bat at the position that should lengthen the order.  This is accompanied with moving on from Alec Bohm. As good a player as Bohm is, the thought is understandable, and if you can get Okamoto for $15 per, he’s probably a better value. In return, the Phillies add two arms whose values are depressed. As with any intriguing young relief-type arm, it’s hard to tell if José Fermín is a guy the Angels have no interest in moving, or a guy they’d sell high on, but I like him as an optionable arm who could pop as one of the last arms out of the pen. Silseth has injury issues, but has flashed potential in the past, and could be deployed as a SP as well. This deal also includes Weston Wilson going the other way. I think he could still have value to this team, but the numbers game could see him on the wrong side, and the Angels need INF depth in particular. They wanted Scott Kingery, right? Wilson can’t be any worse.

Nick Castellanos to the Marlins for $5 million

• $5 million savings on Castellanos for 2026

With the players’s association side-eyeing some of the cheaper teams in the league for spending little, I figured you could pawn off Nick Castellanos on his hometown Marlins for a bit of cash savings. Conversely, you could also consider a team like Cincy, who wants to make moves but not add much to their payroll. Either way, we assume Castellanos is gone and $5 million are saved.

Johan Rojas to the Rays for Mason Englert

• Both players are pre-arbitration

I suspect there is no world the Phillies make this move, and I’m not sure even I’ve truly given up on Johan Rojas ever being an effective MLB player, but at this stage, it makes sense to have him get a change of scenery, especially with Justin Crawford and Gabriel Rincones Jr. knocking down the door, and Danti Nori not far behind. Tampa makes sense as a place where he can compete with Jonny DeLuca and some other also-rans for action. Here, I tap another long-term interest, Mason Englert, as the return. Englert’s career has been odd - he missed his first MiLB seasons with injury, then saw 2020 wiped out by the pandemic. Drafted out of high school, he made AA in just his second season of game action, but was then Rule Five eligible, and selected. Suffice to say, Englert’s projection was thrown off, but last year he showed real success in the pen for Tampa an it’s AAA affiliate as a reliever, all while still in just his fifth pro season of game action. I think that track record suggests he could finally be stabilizing, and with his history as a starter in the past, his ceiling could be fairly high still. He will be 26 all of next season. Could even see the Phillies get a lottery ticket back in this deal as well.

Addition to 2026 tax calculation from trades: -$8.66 million

SP1: Cristopher Sánchez ($5.625 million)

SP2: Jesus Luzardo

SP3: Aaron Nola ($24.571429 million)

SP4: Michael Lorenzen

SP5: Taijuan Walker ($18 million)

CL: Jhoan Durán

RP: Matt Strahm ($7.5 million)

RP: Ryan Helsley

RP: Orion Kerkering ($820,000)

RP: Jose Alvarado

RP: Tanner Banks

RP: Caleb Thielbar

RP: Chase Silseth

C: J.T. Realmuto

1B: Bryce Harper ($25.384615 million)

2B: Bryson Stott

SS: Trea Turner ($27.272727 million)

3B: Kazuma Okomoto

LF: Brandon Marsh

CF: Harrison Bader

RF: Gabriel Rincones Jr. ($820,000)

DH: Josh Naylor

Backup catcher: Rafael Marchán

Bench: Edmundo Sosa

Bench: Justin Crawford ($820,000)

Bench: Otto Kemp ($820,000)

Injured otherwise-26 players:

• Zack Wheeler ($42 million)

Retained:

• Nick Castellanos ($15 million)

New acquisitions projected to start in AAA:

• Mason Englert

• José Fermín

• Anderson Espinoza

• Anders Tolhurst

Pre-ARB and guaranteed carry-overs: $168.633771 million

2026 3rd luxury tax bar: $304 million

TOTAL: $299.50710433 million

PAYROLL SPACE: $4.49289567

What I think this setup does is it makes an attempt to fill as many possible holes with the team next year. The only weaknesses of this setup are RF and the backend of the rotation. The latter problem should be aided by the return of Zack Wheeler, hopefully around June. Meanwhile, I think the team has decent OF redundancy and lineup depth to account for the uncertainty in RF. I have Gabriel Rincones Jr. listed as the starter here because he has more RF experience, but I would like to see Justin Crawford mixed in here as well. If this does not work out, it’s an easier hole to fill at the deadline.

Overall though, I think this plan, in swapping out Schwarber, Bohm, Castellanos, and Max Kepler for Naylor, Okamoto, Rincones Jr., and Crawford makes the team younger and more athletic, and adds more RH bats that can hit at the top of the order with some extra defensive flexibility. Saving some money in the construction of the lineup also allows for extra moves in the bullpen. While adding bullpen moves at the deadline isn’t too hard, I think you want to have as many potential high-end arms as you can to start the season to compensate for potential injuries and the year-to-year volatility of relievers. This plan also limits the longer-term commitments some other plans could add, while not forcing the team to sell out on older veterans that are already in decline. Overall, I think this plan balances out the team a bit more, and could vastly improve the team’s game-to-game consistency by adding more names to the roster that can be relied on.

I got a bit of a late start on this year’s addition so it is a tad frantically put together, but I like the way it turned out. Thank you for reading.

A Way Out Through (AKA, "How The Phillies Can Be Even Better in 2026")

It’s hard, it really is. The way this season ended for the Phillies stings, and it’s difficult to not lament what was probably a pretty big opportunity. In the end though, what is done is done, and all you can do is look back and learn for the future. Here’s the good news - the Phillies might just be as best equipped as anyone to crack the code and replicate the Dodgers next year. Yes, I think they’re actually pretty well positioned to be better in 2026 then they were in 2025. How? Let’s break it down.

First, let’s talk about this Dodgers team. In the end, they were probably the worst possible matchup on the pitching side for this Phillies team. An elite rotation as deep as they’d been all year with stellar arms they could throw out of the bullpen at will. Emmet Sheehan, a starter with a WHIP under 1 available for multi-inning stretches at will. Rōki Sasaki’s arsenal the envy of any closer in the 9th. And naturally the actual Dodgers bullpen, which stunk, but it just so happened that their only good arms were all lefties. It’s a setup that makes Harrison Bader being banged up sting all that much more, and a setup that makes you wish Zack Wheeler was available so you could perhaps better replicate it. These things would probably have only moved the needle so much, but with the razor-thin margins in this series, these things could really add up.

In the end, this series teaches us a few lessons. Right out, there’s an obvious handedness issue with this team - too many lefties at the top of the order. They tried to run from it, but simply could not. It would also probably benefit this team to have some extra depth in the rotation going into the postseason to better match up with LA’s ability to throw multiple starters in a game out of the bullpen. And something that really hurt this team was a lack of relievers playing above expectations this year. Tanner Banks would count, but if you look around at most successful playoff teams, they usually have a few of those guys. Ideally finding some more trustworthy depth can help you not have to keep relying on the same arms in the same spots.

Anyway, let’s talk about some of the good elements of this team that should portend well for next year. The most obvious is the rotation. Even acknowledging Wheeler’s going to miss the start of next year, they’ve got some arms returning you have to feel really good about, namely in Sanchez and Luzardo - two guys who handled a fierce Dodgers lineup - namely the top of the order - REALLY well these playoffs. You’d expect a bit better luck for that top 4/5 group just by natural positive regression, but this post series showed this team - and namely those two - could play with anyone. Losing Suarez certainly would sting, but I think this team realizes they need another SP3-type arm they can trust for next year, and they’ll make sure to get one. From there, you could work to replicate LA’s system internally. Having Sanchez, Luzardo, a new middle of the rotation starter, some likely positive regression from Nola, and eventually Wheeler’s as good a setup as you could expect, and then you have Painter as an option whenever (maybe to start the season, maybe not), and they’ve got some names internally that could conceivably factor into the mix late in the season, such as Cabrera, Wood, or Obermueller, to name a few.

The bullpen is a simple prospect. Clearing $14 million of Romano and Ross affords you some more flexibility to get one or even multiple arms you feel really good about factoring in leverage spots. Speculatively, the return and reliability of José Alvarado is up in the air. If you let him walk, that’s another $9 million free, but I could see the team bring him back at a lower dollar amount, which gives you some extra continuity and familiarity at a cheaper rate. His left-handed power out of the pen has given LAD in particular fits in the past. Bringing Alvarado back gives you Duran, Strahm, Banks, Kerkering, and Alvarado with probably $15 million plus cleared off in full season payroll out of the bullpen alone. Add some for that top 2, either via trade or free agency, and another good option to the next tier already has that bullpen looking pretty good.

In the lineup, let’s talk about some of the names we expect to return. Brandon Marsh had a miserable start to the season, but somehow finished with an OPS near .800. I think part of what you have to feel pretty good about the Brandon Marsh experience is the team knows better now than ever how best to deploy him - as a leftfielder who you play a bit touch-and-go on versus lefties. The good news, is they probably are in a decent spot to land a CF you can feel good about. I think they can get something done with Bader that works for both sides (probably a mid-term deal in the low-mid teens in millions). If not Bader, Cody Bellinger looms as an option, even if he isn’t an IDEAL CF at this stage.

I think the infield looks a bit more certain now. Bryson Stott turned a corner offensively around about mid-July, hitting .307/.376/.508 from the 23rd on. As a strong defender at least at 2B, his spot as at least a 5 game a week starter looks more certain now. If not, you still have Edmundo Sosa, who had a fantastic season, and you’ll imagine they’ll keep trying to find ways to get him in the lineup. Trea Turner…still leaves a bit to be desired at SS, though I suppose you feel better about him now. Even so, you have Stott and Sosa as redundancy, and MAYBE perhaps they move him to right field? I wasn’t as impressed as Trea’s offensive season at first, though I think that was more a matter of decreased power being a thing with him this year. I don’t see a reason really why that would keep up though, so I think him just getting back to 20 HR is not only something I would expect, but it would feel very encouraging, especially if the bottom of the lineup can be above-average at times again next year.

In regards to departures, I don’t think anyone will be missing Kepler and Casty. The former is a free agent, and whether or not they can get anything back in salary relief for the latter (Miami takes part of the contract to appease the players union?), it’s a net loss not having him at all after last year. We’ll talk more replacement ideas for the OF corners in a bit, but again, addition by subtraction here.

I think the catcher situation is fairly simple - they will bring back J.T. Yeah, he’s old for a catcher, but he’s still good behind the plate (especially when it’s not Jordan Romano “holding” runners on) and trusted by the pitching staff. Of course, the hitting probably is what it is, but the way he was striking the ball in the playoffs certainly suggests he still has bat speed. I’m a Rafael Marchán defender, but you do have to imagine they’ll look for extra support for J.T. next year. I’d throw a Luis Campusano out there as a guy that could be had for cheap who could challenge Marchán for the C2 spot.

Now, the real questions remain at 3B and DH. Bohm had a decent season, and his defense improved for sure. I get why he’s a clunky fit there, but part of the reason they were using him so high in the lineup is why it’s hard to simply move on from him - he’s simply one of their better hitters. At $10 million, they’ll probably be bringing him back. If they don’t though, they have a pretty good 3B class to work with. Alex Bregman has already been connected to them before and has plenty of postseason experience (could also use him at SS if you so desire).  Eugenio Suarez probably isn’t replicating his first half form from 2025, but he could provide good RH power at 3rd, even if you expect Bohm to have some positive regression in this category (I would say he does). Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto are also big power threats who could also fit that 3B/DH role.

And this leaves us with Kyle Schwarber. I think you can tell where I’m going with this here - the easiest button to push with this team is to make a change at DH for a handful of reasons. First, with an aging roster, having that DH position not tied down by one player is beneficial. Beyond that, this team needs to get younger and faster - I think the best way to do that is to bite the bullet and move on from a soon-to-be 33 year-old DH. Don’t get me wrong, Schwarber had a fantastic season and will be missed. The problem is, if you bring him back, what’s the big button you press to shake things up. Ultimately, even if he has another good season, he probably won’t play as well next year, and for all his past successes, Schwarber was exposed in all but two postseason games in the past two seasons, and with the team’s obvious lefty bias, I feel like you need to get a righty here. The good news is, there will be options, namely the aforementioned Bregman or Pete Alonso, and if you can’t land either, there are lefties in Bellinger or Kyle Tucker that may be better stylistic fits for this team. If you want to expand your options out a bit, the team could make a move for Bo Bichette, one of the younger names on the market, while moving Trea off SS.

If the team is moving on from multiple guys, they’ll probably have to consider making replacements internally. The good news is, they’re probably better positioned now than they’ve been in years to make potential high-impact replacements internally. Beyond the aforementioned Andrew Painter, Justin Crawford spent the entire season in AAA to great results, and industry experts seem to think he’ll have a job to lose in the spring. He could at least start with a timeshare in one of the OF spots, and actually has pretty solid numbers versus lefties, so he could see time as Marsh’s platoon partner. Aidan Miller may need to start at AAA, but finished strong, and would have went to the AFL if not for injury concerns, which leads me to believe they want him as ready as possible to start next season. He could factor somewhere into that infield mix, especially if the team considers moving Bohm, or getting Trea off SS. Beyond an expanded role for Otto Kemp, who could help provide some extra power in his 2nd year in the Majors, contact-crazed Keaton Anthony could be the Phillies answer to Luis Arraez, and don’t sleep on Gabriel Rincones Jr., who worked around a slow start and injury hangups to slash .260/.395/.475 from June on while being a great power-speed threat and dropping his K/BB rate from nearly 2.2 to just over 1.4.

And yes, there is one man I left out. I’m not going to tell you I know what the deal is with Bryce Harper, but I can afford you a few things. One, I think the team will hopefully have a better plan for dealing with the wrist problem than they did coming into this year, seeing that it lingered a lot more than they expected. And secondly, I think if they can find a way to open up the DH spot some more, they can perhaps find a way to keep him as fresh as possible going forward. Whether or not they bring back Schwarber, I’d imagine it’s on their mind. Either way, I simply refuse to write Harper off as “cooked”. I don’t think he’s winning another MVP, but I don’t think his days as an impact bat are done, and if I know Bryce Harper, I know he’ll work as hard as he can to make sure he’s not done.

In the end, there is a lot of work that this team needs to get done to actually get better than they were in 2025. That said, I really do believe this plan isn’t that hard to implement, and I think it probably fairly closely aligns with what they’re thinking about for next year as well.