The offseason is underway for the Phillies, and the outfield seems like their most likely position to upgrade before the 2025 season begins.

Phillies outfielders underperformed in 2024. Nick Castellanos was an outlier from that group, hitting .254 with 23 home runs, 86 RBIs, and 30 doubles. The OPS isn’t anything to write home about for Castellanos, but during a time that this squad couldn’t catch a break with injuries, Castellanos was out there every single day giving this team a chance to win.

It starts to go downhill from there. Brandon Marsh hit .249 and accumulated a 3.1 WAR, but struck out 154 times in 135 games. Marsh was 7th in all of baseball in K% at 32.4% (min. 400 PA). He continued to struggle against left-handed pitching, slashing just .192/.270/.282 in 78 ABs with a .552 OPS and a 42% strikeout rate.

Johan Rojas is still young, but the offense didn’t improve like the Phillies hoped for in 2024. Rojas put together a .601 OPS in 120 games with just a .279 OBP. While he did steal 25 bags, the Phillies are going to need more offensive production if they throw Rojas out there on Opening Day next year. Dave Dombrowski said at the end of season press conference that they have an offensive plan for Rojas this offseason down in Clearwater.

Austin Hays dealt with an unusual kidney injury that you rarely see in professional sports, but he still wasn’t great when on the field. Hays logged a -0.3 WAR in 22 games with the Phillies, compiling just 20 hits in 78 ABs with 6 RBIs. Dombrowski’s first mistake was Hays being the only bat acquired at the trade deadline.


We’ve gone through the unit, and I think we can all agree this team is due for an upgrade. They need a guy that can spray the field, has some pop, and hits for average.

Enter free agent Jurickson Profar.

Profar looked like a brand new baseball player in 2024. From 2012 to 2019, Profar never had a batting average over .255. He had a great COVID year with the San Diego Padres, then had two iffy years with SD before going to Colorado for a year. He struggled immensely with the Rockies, got released, re-signed with the Padres, and totally jump started his career again this season.

Profar hit .280 in a loaded Padres lineup in 2024 with 158 hits, 24 homers, 85 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, and a .380 OBP in 158 games played. He scored 94 runs, logged 29 doubles, and accumulated a 3.7 WAR, good for 2nd on that Padres team behind just Jackson Merrill. Profar made just 1 error in 148 games in left field this season with a .996 fielding percentage.

You may remember Profar as the guy who got thrown out in Game 3 of the 2022 NLCS vs. the Phillies.

The hesitation with Profar is that he’s only had one “big” season out of 10 in the pros. Banking on one good season doesn’t always end well for teams. There are players out there with more established careers, but Profar fits the mold just as good as anyone on the market. Did he finally turn a corner in San Diego? It looks like it. Profar crushed a .939 OPS with runners in scoring position this season, hitting .296 with runners on, and a whopping .714 average with the bases loaded.

The Phillies are going to have some tough decisions to make this offseason. The bottom line is you can’t run this outfield and team back and just hope for the best. Change is needed if you want to bring a World Series back to Philadelphia.

Profar fits the mold. He plays with heart. He shows emotion. He doesn’t back down from anybody. He chirped Dodgers fans in the NLCS. I think the city of Philadelphia would fall in love with this guy. Profar being a 10-year veteran leads me to believe this contract wouldn’t be a long one. I think a 2-5 year range is what his camp will look for, and the Phillies should be get themselves in the mix depending on the price.