Philadelphia Phillies Possible Landing Spot for Next Year's Top Free Agent

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal speculated Tuesday that the Philadelphia Phillies could be a destination for one of the top pending free agents next season.

Nov 2, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) hits a double against the Philadelphia Phillies during the second inning in game four of the 2022 World Series at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of questions to answer about the long term outlook for the organization, but a recent report by an MLB insider shed some light on a possible path forward to extend the club's World Series contention window.

On Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic mentioned the Phillies as a possible destination for current Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker.

The Cubs acquired Tucker from the Houston Astros in a blockbuster trade that signaled the end of an era in Houston and cemented the Cubs as one of the teams making serious efforts to better their fortunes ahead of 2025.

But the relationship between Tucker and the Cubs started on a sour note when the club took him to arbitration rather than work out a new deal in advance of his final season before free agency, and it seems far more likely than not that Tucker will test the market rather than extend long term in Chicago.

Tucker will be 29 when the 2026 season starts, and should still have quite a few years of elite production ahead of him. He's shown that ability throughout his career as an Astro, helping the team beat Philadelphia in the 2022 World Series after a campaign in which he hit 30 homers and drove in 107 runs.

Despite missing over half of the 2024 season due to injury, Tucker had the best year of his career in terms of his triple slash, with a .289 average, .408 on-base percentage and .585 slugging percentage, the latter two of which were career highs.

The quality of player Tucker represents is obvious, but what makes him an ideal fit for the Phillies is the opportunity his acquisition would grant Dave Dombrowski to make the team's core a bit younger.

Current Phillies mainstays Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner will be well into their 30s by the time 2026 rolls around, and while some of those players will likely maintain their current production levels, regression for at least a few is inevitable-- not to mention that some may not even be on the team.

Dombrowski has done a masterful job of setting the team's starting rotation up to be sustainably elite behind Zack Wheeler, Christopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez. An acquisition like Tucker would allow the organization to reset around a new anchor, setting up a formidable lineup along with Harper and some of the team's younger contributors.