Which Shortstop Should Philadelphia Phillies Sign: Correa, Bogaerts or Turner?

The Philadelphia Phillies are rumored to target a free agent shortstop this winter. Which one of Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson, Xander Bogaerts and Trea Turner should executive Dave Dombrowski target? Jack Vita shares his take.

After coming up just two games short of winning the 2022 World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies have shown interest in upgrading at shortstop.

Rookie Bryson Stott slashed .234/.295/.653 with -7 Defensive Runs Saved in the field in 2022. Executive Dave Dombrowski will have an opportunity to upgrade at the position, given a fruitful shortstop market this winter.

The Phillies also declined a $17 million option on second baseman Jean Segura, opening up even more money for Dombrowski to play with, after having baseball's fourth-highest payroll in 2022. So which shortstop between Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts should the Phillies target?

First and foremost, defense should be of utmost importance.

The Phillies were a poor defensive club the last two seasons. They were sixth-worst in Defensive Runs Saved (-33) in 2022 and the worst club in DRS (-54) in 2021.

Shortstop is the heart of the defense. Add a smooth-fielding shortstop, and the Phillies can transform their club defensively.

Correa and Swanson are the two best defensive shortstops of the group. Defensive metrics show that both are exceptional fielders.

Durability would be a concern for me, when it comes to Correa, however. In his eight big league seasons, Correa has played more than 110 games just three times. If you don't count his debut season, in which he came up midway through 2015, and the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Correa has missed 52 or more games in half of his full Major League seasons.

Swanson, on the other hand, is incredibly durable. The Georgia native played in all 162 of the Braves' games in 2022. He played in all of the Braves' 60 games in 2020, and played 160 games in 2021.

Swanson continues to show improvement at the plate, and in 2022, he earned his first All-Star nod.

Swanson would be a reliable, Gold Glove shortstop for the Phillies who drove in 96 runs in 2022. The Phillies could also weaken their division rival, prying him away from the Atlanta Braves.

The Phillies could add another strong bat to their lineup, but more importantly, make a significant improvement defensively, that could go a long way for the club in 2023. If it were up to me, I'd pick Swanson.

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