3 Phillies prospects who won’t be back in 2025 and why

The Philadelphia Phillies came up well short of their ultimate goal in 2024. While they had one of, if not the single most talented roster in the league, it all fell apart in October. Heading into the offseason, there are a few places that the Phillies could really look to upgrade including in the outfield and in the starting rotation. Every team could use help in the bullpen as well.

A few of the best ideas for these trades sit with the Chicago White Sox. Both Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. would make sense for the Phillies' needs and the White Sox are likely to shop them around this offseason and into the regular season. Philadelphia could be the top suitor for either player and after such a disappointing finish to the regular season, they will be aggressive to improve their roster.

Which prospects would the Phillies be most likely to move in order to acquire these big names via a trade?

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3. OF Gabriel Rincones Jr.

When looking at prospects that the Phillies could trade, there are a few players who should be seen as off limits. Both Andrew Painter and Aidan Miller should be viewed as untouchable prospects for Philadelphia, as they both look to have superstar potential. Three of the Phillies top-10 prospects behind Painter and Miller are outfielders. The fourth outfielder in their farm system is Gabriel Rincones Jr. and he could be the prospect who gets moved as a piece in a blockbuster deal.

Rincones, 23, slashed .252/.347/.453 in 2024 split between a few games in Rookie Ball and a majority of the season in Double-A. Rincones has tremendous power potential that makes up for his lack of speed. Despite his low run tool, Rincones stole 20 bases in each of his first two professional seasons.

Rincones would be quite the intriguing prospect for other teams to look at. He's close to Major League-ready and he has a ton of potential. Though he's on the older side of prospect status, his talent makes up for that. Philadelphia would be looking to move Rincones to acquire a Major League outfielder, so they can afford to lose him here.

2. SS Starlyn Caba

The Phillies infield is loaded with talent at the Major League level. They have All-Stars all over the diamond. They also have one of the best shortstop prospects in the game of baseball in Aidan Miller, who sits in Double-A. Miller will be ready to crack into the big leagues in a year or two, as the shortstop prospect is still just 20 years old.

The idea for Philly is that Miller will be their franchise shortstop in a year or two. That would leave their fourth-ranked prospect, Starlyn Caba, available to ship away in a blockbuster trade. Caba, an 18-year-old shortstop prospect, is one of the best defensive infield prospects in baseball, despite being just 18 years old.

Caba slashed .228/.385/.284 in 2024 split between Rookie Ball and Low-A. At the age of 18, these numbers shouldn't be examined too closely. It's the raw tools, which he has, that give him immense value in a trade.

The Phillies have the ability to trade him because they have a deep infield at the big-league level right now, Aidan Miller in front of him and multiple younger middle infield prospects in the top 15 as well.

1. RHP Mick Abel

There are prospects that the Phillies could move because other teams are interested and then there's a prospect the Phillies could move because he desperately needs a change of scenery. The prospect that I'm speaking of is the right-handed pitcher, Mick Abel.

For awhile, Abel was seen as a top-100 prospect in the game of baseball, but after a horrendous 2024 season, he's fallen out of MLB Pipeline's top-100 prospects. He's also dropped down on the Phillies list of prospects.

In 2024, Abel posted a 6.46 ERA across over 100 innings in Triple-A. Before that, he used a dominant fastball and multiple breaking balls to pitch to the tune of an ERA right around 4.00. The right hander is 23 and desperately needs a change of scenery.

Abel would be valuable on another team, as he could still develop into a top-of-the-rotation starter. But Philadelphia has four All-Star starters and a prospect with superstar potential in Andrew Painter. Add in the fact that Philadelphia could be looking to trade for another starter, and there's no clear path to the big league for Abel, especially if he continues to struggle.