The Philadelphia Phillies had a tough season in 2013 and now that they are heading into another offseason after no playoffs, the team is expected to make a splash in free agency and they could be in the market for an outfielder according to some reports and player options include Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Beltran, Shin-Soo Choo, and Nelson Cruz among others.
Those are the top contenders in the outfield for many teams and the Phillies desperately need some power and consistency in the outfield and Ellsbury would be a prime candidate for that. Beltran will be a top name mentioned and so will Ellsbury, as his age and speed gives him some tools to work with and he could be deadly in a national league stadium and that is one reason why the Phillies could sign him. The team gave up on Hunter Pence and they wanted to sign him before he ended up signing with the Giants and Ellsbury could be a replacement for that deal.
The team also needs more relief pitching heading into next season and CBS Sports is reporting that all those outfielders could be options this offseason. The Phillies have talent to build around with Dominic Brown and of course Ryan Howard if he can stay healthy, but after not getting enough production this season out of their players in the outfield, someone like Ellsbury or Cruz could slide in nicely and they have the money to spend on it.
The Phillies won just 73 games last season and Beltran could be someone that is less expensive than Ellsbury, as he is obviously older and now he could get a deal with multiple years after signing a contract like that will the Phillies. Ellsbury is going to get paid big since he is a Boras client and this season he hit nearly .300 with 52 stolen bases and he should be the top free agent apart from Robinson Cano.
Boras will be looking back to his 2011 season before Ellsbury was hurt back in 2012 when he hit over 20 home runs and had 105 RBIs and nearly 40 stolen bases and that is the type of player he will shop Ellsbury as. Granderson and Choo are good options if the top guys go other places and so is Cruz, who has been a consistent power hitter during his years in Texas.
The Phillies were not very good last season and they finished fourth in the division after being a consistent winner for many years. The World Series win feels far away and the team was terrible one offense last season, ranking 26th in runs, 21st in batting average, 24th in on base and 21st in slugging percentage.
