Even with the Philadelphia Phillies making some moves this offseason, there still feels like there’s a need for more if they want to win a World Series.
Mike Petriello of MLB.com believes the Philadelphia Phillies should still have interest in Kyle Tucker, stating that Philadelphia hasn’t truly moved the needle as much as it could this offseason, and it’s not an unfair thought.
“Yes, we get it: They’d like to give prospect Justin Crawford a shot in center, and they took a rebound bet on a one-year deal for Adolis García, who hasn’t been productive since 2023. We also heard Dave Dombrowski say the outfield is ‘pretty well set’ after signing García.”
“That doesn’t mean things can’t change, though. For all the talk of shaking things up in Philadelphia, all that’s really happened is adding García and bringing back Kyle Schwarber (understandably, obviously). They still need to sort out catcher, whether that’s returning J.T. Realmuto or looking elsewhere. There’s just no way for them to improve things quite as much as they could by adding Tucker – as unlikely as it may seem,” he wrote.
Bringing back Kyle Schwarber was smart, and so was betting on a short-term bounce-back from Adolis Garcia. However, the chances of Schwarber having another season like last year is slim, and Garcia has been pretty bad recently.
That’s where Tucker could come in. He’s an elite hitter, a strong defender, and a player who should only be getting better.
The mention of catcher matters, too. The Phillies still face uncertainty there, whether that means a reunion with J.T. Realmuto or pivoting elsewhere. But as Petriello said, even signing Realmuto, whether it be to a one-year or few year deal, doesn’t come close to the impact Tucker would give them.
I understand the side of the argument that says they should give the young guys a chance, but just because a player does something in Triple-A doesn’t mean they’ll do so in the show. We already know what Tucker would bring to this offense.
There’s a price attached to that, but at this point, it’s worth it.