The Philadelphia Phillies had their year end earlier than anyone wanted following their first NL East title since 2011, and the most wins they have had in a regular season since that campaign.
The Phillies lost in four games in the NLDS to their division rival New York Mets, and now the team must go back to the drawing board in what will be a long and cold winter while figuring out how to re-tool and get better in 2025.
Big decisions are going to have to be made by the organization, and a huge part of building a team is trimming the fat of what is currently in the building and making the tough choices on where to upgrade.
One position Philadelphia will need to improve upon, especially on offense, is the outfield.
Brandon Marsh was disastrous in the postseason at the plate, and Jovan Alford of Section 215 thinks he will be one player who is not going to be back with the team next season.
“For this team to be successful in 2025, they need an offensive upgrade in the outfield,” Alford wrote. “Marsh can play defense with the best of them, but that doesn’t help when you struggle to hit against left-handed pitchers and you have to platoon.”
Marsh is arbitration eligible this winter at a number that is not expected to be much higher than $3 million, so the team is not exactly in a spot where they would have to pay big money to keep him. But after a postseason run where he could not even hit .100 at the plate and looked completely out of his depth, letting Marsh walk is not something that would be particularly heart breaking for Phillies fans.
Arriving in Philadelphia at the trade deadline in 2022, Marsh was solid down the stretch that year and had a very respectable 2023 season, but his numbers started to slip in virtually every offensive category in 2024.
The team may decide to pay the small number that keeps Marsh around due to his value as a defender, but an upgrade is clearly needed regardless.
