The Philadelphia Phillies’ biggest roster weakness is in the outfield, and even though they haven’t brought in any major free-agent additions yet, it’s clear they’re working to improve the situation.
There will likely be plenty of discussion this offseason about a potential Nick Castellanos trade, which is understandable given his frustration with reduced playing time during a disappointing year. Max Kepler and Harrison Bader are both on the market—and Bader, after a strong season, is expected to draw significant interest—leaving Brandon Marsh as the only relatively reliable outfield option at the moment.
Last week, the Phillies made an under-the-radar move to address their outfield depth, though in a perfect world, they won’t be relying on their newest player to make many, if any, appearances.
The Phillies have added five-year MLB outfielder Bryan De La Cruz on a minor-league deal, as noted in the transaction log on his MLB.com page. Although the signing took place on Nov. 6, it wasn’t reflected in the log until a few days later.
De La Cruz is coming off his smallest big-league workload since his 2021 debut. He appeared in 16 games for the Braves after joining them on a non-guaranteed deal, before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Yankees on May 1.
With New York’s outfield loaded (featuring Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Jasson Domínguez), De La Cruz spent the rest of the year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he hit .271 with 15 homers and a .796 OPS over 91 games.
When the Yankees DFA’d him again in July, he accepted an outright assignment but later chose free agency on Oct. 10, the day the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason. He is currently playing winter ball for Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League.
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