Philadelphia Phillies Rightfully Receive Strong Grade for a Solid Offseason

What grade did the Philadelphia Phillies receive for their offseason moves?

May 28, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. | David Frerker-Imagn Images

With Spring training underway for the Philadelphia Phillies, the franchise will be hoping that they did enough to improve this offseason.

While it was a disappointing end to the 2024 campaign for the Phillies, the franchise still has reason to believe that they can be a contender in the National League.

Even though they were eliminated after winning just one game in the National League Division Series, Philadelphia didn’t go crazy and make wholesale changes this winter.

With a very strong core still in place and still not out of its prime, the Phillies used the winter to add pieces around what they had already built.

Coming into the offseason, there were needs at all three levels for Philadelphia. Luckily, they were able to address them.

In the starting rotation, they traded for Jesus Luzardo from the Miami Marlins to take over the fifth spot in the rotation from Taijuan Walker. The southpaw is coming off a poor year with the Marlins, but flashed some high upside in 2023 and should be an improvement over Walker.

For their lineup, and more specifically their outfield, they added slugger Max Kepler into the fold to help provide some more pop for the batting order.

Arguably the most significant addition that they made, however, was the signing of Jordan Romano. The former All-Star had an injured-plagued and poor season with the Toronto Blue Jays last year but was an All-Star in both 2022 and 2023.

Having a closer the caliber of a healthy Romano could be a game-changer for the Phillies, who have struggled in that area. With it being an important offseason for Philadelphia, they needed to do well.

Even though there weren’t a lot of major splashes, it appears to be a successful winter on paper.

The Athletic recently graded the Phillies’ offseason and gave them a solid grade of a ‘B’ for the additions they made this winter.

This certainly seems like a fair grade for Philadelphia’s moves this winter. By no means did the franchise knock it out of the park, but they made smart decisions to improve multiple areas.

While some of the moves are made for competing in 2025, the trade for Luzardo could be a move for the future as well.

The southpaw very well could be in line to replace Ranger Suarez, who will be a free agent at the end of the season. While top prospect Andrew Painter will likely get called up at some point this campaign as well, the Phillies seem to be thinking about the future a bit with that move.

Overall, there is a lot to like about how the Phillies appear to be on paper heading into next year.