Phillies Get Ripped to Shreds Over Contentious Offseason Decision

The Philadelphia Phillies have certainly not had an offseason to remember, as they are essentially running it back with the same team from last year.

Actually, the Phillies may have even downgraded, losing pitcher Ranger Suarez as well as outfielder Harrison Bader to free agency.

Philadelphia made two "significant" additions this winter, signing outfielder Adolis Garcia as well as reliever Brad Keller. But Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller wonders if they were actually "additions" at all.

Miller specifically questioned the Garcia decision, especially given what else has transpired in the Phillies' outfield this winter.

"Can Garcia even be considered an addition, though, when they lost Harrison Bader and Max Kepler, and by all accounts intend to part with Nick Castellanos before Opening Day?" Miller wrote. "It'd be one thing if they replaced those three outfielders with a Cody Bellinger or a Kyle Tucker. But García was non-tendered by the Rangers. He might not even be an improvement on Castellanos, let alone Bader."

The fact that Miller is debating whether or not Garcia is an improvement over Castellanos — who might as well be radioactive in Philly at this point — is wild and speaks to how little the Phillies have actually done to improve their roster.

Now, to be fair, Garcia is a massive upgrade over Castellanos defensively. While Castellanos is one of the worst outfielders in baseball, Garcia is one of the best, having posted a plus-16 DRS in 2025.

But is Garcia any better offensively? No. The 32-year-old slashed .227/.271/.394 with 19 home runs and 75 RBI over 547 plate appearances with the Texas Rangers last season and has posted sub-.700 OPSes each of the last two years.

Garcia is three seasons removed from an All-Star selection, when he smashed 39 homers to go along with 107 RBI in 2023. He also went on a rampage in the playoffs that year, hitting eight long balls and posting a 1.108 OPS en route to helping the Rangers win a World Series.

But the Cuban native has looked like an entirely different player since then, and it's fair to wonder if he will have any sort of positive impact on Philadelphia in 2026.

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