MLB Rumors: 3 free agents Phillies can realistically sign to become World Series favorites

The Philadelphia Phillies have come so close to achieving their goal of winning the World Series in each of the last two seasons but have come up just short, falling in the World Series in 2022 and losing in frustrating fashion to the Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the NLCS in 2023.

For the Phillies to get to where they want to go, they need to keep their feet on the gas pedal. They have a roster capable of competing for a playoff spot but with the Braves and Dodgers existing in the National League, pegging them as favorites to represent the NL in the World Series would not be wise, even with their recent history of postseason success.

This offseason got off to a roaring start for the Phillies as they re-signed Aaron Nola, but they've done little else since, raising the question of whether more moves are in store. Fortunately for Phillies fans, FanSided's Robert Murray pointed out on The Baseball Insiders podcast that the Phillies have money to spend, as evidenced by their failed Yoshinobu Yamamoto pursuit. With that in mind, if the Phillies are able to sign any of these three players, their chances of becoming World Series favorites would increase exponentially.

3) The Phillies should pursue Cody Bellinger to fortify what could be an underwhelming outfield

The Phillies have a stout lineup from top to bottom, but if any weakness can be pointed out, it'd be their outfield. Nick Castellanos had a better year in his second season with the Phillies, but has been inconsistent offensively in his time there. Brandon Marsh broke out in 2023, but is currently injured. The Phillies expect him to be ready for Opening Day, but who knows at this point? Both of these players should and will receive regular playing time.

Johan Rojas is the wild card here. He looked good in a limited sample in his first regular season action offensively, but his inability to do much of anything offensively in the postseason clearly hurt them. Adding a guy like Bellinger to hit in the middle of their lineup alongside the stars they already have and push Rojas into more of a fourth outfielder role would make Philadelphia just that much scarier.

Murray did point out that Dave Dombrowski said that the Phillies plan on playing Rojas regularly and they don't have many at-bats to give to an outfielder which makes Bellinger a bit unlikely, but if Marsh's rehab doesn't go as well as planned maybe the Phillies will re-examine that. They absolutely should regardless.