Phillies Wisely Not Predicted to Bring Back Free Agent

Should the Philadelphia Phillies bring back a free agent that might not fit in their plans perfectly?

May 16, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski in the dugout before the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Phillies at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With the MLB Postseason continuing on, the Philadelphia Phillies will be working to prepare for what is going to be a key offseason. 

Coming off another early playoff loss, there is no shortage of areas that the team needs to address. Firstly, figuring out who their manager is going to be is an important task. 

Don Mattingly did a solid job after taking over, but whether or not he is going to be the manager in 2027 is yet to be determined. Furthermore, while figuring out the manager is going to be important, so too will be what the roster looks like. 

Philadelphia was a flawed team this season and there are a couple of areas that they will have to try to improve. Both the bullpen and the lineup need help, but the possibility of the team looking to shake things up will also be there. 

While the Phillies don’t have a ton of key free agents hitting the market, they do have a couple that will be intriguing to see what happens. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently predicted what every team’s top free agent would do this offseason. For the Phillies, their top free agent was deemed to be Luis Arrarez and the verdict on him was that he would walk in free agency. 

Philadelphia Not Bringing Back Arraez Makes Sense 

Sep 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez (4) prepares to bat during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the decision to bring in the All-Star slugger at the trade deadline made sense for the Phillies and the team needed help in the lineup, the positional fit was never great. 

With the addition of Arraez, Philadelphia had to juggle their infield, moving Alec Bohm to first base, Bryson Stott to third base, and then Bryce Harper to the outfield. 

It was good to see Harper being willing to move to the outfield to help the team in this scenario, but him being in the outfield at his age likely wasn’t the best for his body. 

With all of that being said, not bringing back Arraez does make sense. While he is without a doubt a very talented hitter, he is a left-handed bat, which isn’t a particular need for the team. Furthermore, with Bohm also being a free agent, re-signing him might be more of a priority based on his ability to play third base. 

Overall, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Arraez walk in free agency, as the pairing for both sides didn’t work out great.