Phillies Could Sign All-Star Outfielder in Free Agency After Career Season

This All-Star could be a great fit for the Philadelphia Phillies.

David Frerker-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies clearly have been missing an extra gear in their lineup after three consecutive postseason exits were largely caused by an offense that went on life support at the worst time.

Making the World Series in 2022 and being defeated by the Astros before losing in the NLCS last season against Arizona and being eliminated quickly in the NLDS this year by the Mets, things have moved in the wrong direction for the Phillies in the last couple of years. While the bullpen that was so solid down the stretch for Philadelphia completely imploded this year against New York, it was the offense that desperately needed an injection of life throughout the quick four-game series.

As the team gets set to approach the offseason, adding a difference making bat into the lineup needs to be at the top of the list of goals for Dave Dombrowski and the rest of the team brass. One interesting potential option posed by Joe Edinger of The Good Phight is an outfielder coming off a career season for the Padres in Jurickson Profar.

"Profar brings exactly the type of hitter the Phillies need in the lineup, namely one with healthy chase (22.4%) and whiff (16.9%) rates that works counts and gets on base," Edinger wrote. "Those aforementioned chase and whiff rates put him in the 90th percentile of all hitters in 2024, and his .380 OBP was the seventh best in all of baseball. Besides those qualities, Profar also has the added benefit of being a switch hitter with even splits against righties and lefties."

With ten full seasons in the league across four different teams including two separate stints with San Diego, Profar has been around for a while, but his 2024 season was his first ever All-Star appearance after he re-upped with San Diego following a September 2023 minor league deal where he shined down the stretch of the season.

In 2024, Profar hit a career best .280 batting average along with career highs in hits, RBIs, home runs, OPS, and all of this on top of his 158 games played being the most in his career. He will be 32 before the 2025 season begins, but the financial commitment would not be massive. Profar is estimated by Spotrac to receive a two-year deal worth roughly $25 million.

If Profar is in fact willing to sign at that number and Philadelphia can get even 80 percent of the player he was in 2024, this would be a quality addition to the lineup and to the clubhouse.