Phillies Rumored to Pursue Bogaerts in 2023

Could the Philadelphia Phillies land the three-time All-Star shortstop?

© Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

This past winter, it was speculated that President of Baseball Operation Dave Dombrowski and the Philadelphia Phillies would be in on the free agent shortstop sweepstakes and would pursue one of Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, or Javier Báez.

Ultimately, Dombrowski chose to stick with the in-house options of Didi Gregorius and top prospect Bryson Stott. Gregorius was signed to a two-year, $28 million deal in Jan. 2021 after a promising 2020 campaign with Philadelphia. 

However, a plethora of injuries has caused a steady decline in the 32-year-old, who's slashed just .222/.281/.369 over his last two seasons with the Phillies, along with mediocre defense in the middle infield.

Stott, on the other hand, found his way into the starting lineup after an impressive spring training. He's since struggled at the major league level, but has found success as of late, belting two home runs and posting an 1.145 OPS over his last four games. 

Following the 2022 season, it's likely the Phillies choose to move on from Gregorius, who will become a free agent. And although Stott is a natural shortstop, Philadelphia may elect to stick him at second and third base, as he has experience at both positions.

So, who will be manning shortstop for the Phillies come 2023? 

One name that has been circulating is that of Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Although Bogaerts isn't a free agent until 2026, he holds a player option this offseason that would allow him to test the open market. It's became increasingly likely the Bogaerts will not return to Boston next season, especially after the team decided to sign Story to six-year, $140 million deal this past offseason.

Bogaerts fields a ground ball in the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field / © Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The 29-year-old was open to a contract extension with the Red Sox, but the offer reportedly did not match the ones Bogaerts' peers recently received. It's possible that the four-time Silver Slugger could be swayed to Philadelphia through his connections with former Red Sox President Dombrowski, who signed Bogaerts to a six-year, $120 million contract back in April 2019, following the Red Sox 2018 World Series championship.

This season, the three-time MLB All-Star is batting .322/.390/.485 with six home runs and 26 RBI in 228 plate appearances. Defensively, he's currently tied for 14th in MLB with six errors and ranks in just the 9th percentile in Outs Above Average, according to Statcast. Still, Bogaerts' defense would be an upgrade from Gregorius, who committed a whopping 18 errors last season, sixth worst in MLB.

Despite the Phillies' big spending this past offseason, supplying Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos with large, multi-year contracts that put them over the luxury tax for the first time in franchise history, they will still be able to be aggressive in 2023. With Gregorius' contract—and multiple others—coming off of the books, Dombrowski and the club should be flexible and be able to supply Bogaerts with a premier contract.

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