Philadelphia Phillies Predicted To Keep Reliever and Trade High Value Star

With the Philadelphia Phillies season over, it's time to look to the offseason.

Oct 9, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jeff Hoffman (23) throws a pitch in the fifth inning against the New York Mets in game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Now that the Philadelphia Phillies are officially in their offseason, all sights are on the upcoming offseason and free agency. Despite winning 95 games, the offense and bullpen struggled in the postseason, so it's clear that there will be important decisions to be made this winter. ESPN's David Schoenfield made two predictions on what they will do this offseason after their early exit in the playoffs.

The only three free agents the Phillies have are right handers Carlos Estevez, Jeff Hoffman and Spencer Turnbull. Hoffman was an All-Star for the first time and 2024, and Philadelphia swung a big deadline deal to acquire Estevez, but Schoenfield believes they'll only keep one.

"Hoffman is the better pitcher, although Estevez has the closer pedigree. If you could pick just one, I'd go with Hoffman and let another team overpay for Estevez," he wrote.

Hoffman had the better season, recording ten saves to go along with his 2.17 ERA and 12.1 K/9. That being said, Estevez recorded 16 more saves on the season, but his ERA was a tad higher at 2.45 with only an 8.2 K/9.

Relievers are volatile. So when a team is deciding between the two, they may look at just the pure stuff and strikeouts instead of just the save numbers as an indicator of future success. And, as Schoenfield says, Estevez might cost more on the open market. Hoffman could be the better bang for the Phillies buck.

Secondly, the ESPN writer mentioned a name as a possibility for trade talks.

"If the Phillies want to make a trade, the one candidate would be third baseman Alec Bohm. He's coming off a career-high 3.0 WAR season after totaling 0.9 WAR in 2022 and 0.4 in 2023. While his defense at third was much improved, his RBI total (97) overstates his offensive value," Schoenfield said.

It was a career year for the 27-year-old. Not including the shortened 2020 season, he posted a career high in a couple of different categories. He hit 44 doubles and posted a 117 OPS+, both career highs, as well as tying his 97 RBI mark.

He made and started his first All-Star team, but after the break hit a long skid.

From August 2 until the end of the regular season, Bohm slashed just .238/.268/.361 for a .629 OPS with only four home runs and 24 RBIs, putting his hot first half to a halt. In the playoffs, he was just 1-for-13.

If he were to be floated as a name in a trade, say for Devin Williams, the team acquiring him will have to make a decision. Which half of the season is the real Alec Bohm, or is it somewhere in between? His value is likely at it's highest, regardless of his playoff performance, but the Phillies may also want to keep the core together.

It will be an interesting offseason for the Phillies and they will have to change some things up if they want to continue to keep this playoff streak going.