Starling Marte Rumors: Phillies Eye A's Free Agent; 'Many' MLB Teams Interested in CF

Starling Marte, arguably the best free-agent outfielder available, appears to have his choice of potential landing spots. 

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the Philadelphia Phillies are among the "many" teams interested in signing the two-time Gold Glove winner. 

Heyman noted the Houston Astros, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins and more as suitors.

The top of the free-agent outfield class is very good. Mark Canha, Chris Taylor, Avisail Garcia, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber and Michael Conforto should attract a lot of attention.

The 33-year-old Marte, though, has the best combination of offensive and defensive ability. He's a .289/.346/.451 career hitter and had a career-high 132 OPS+ in 2021, per Baseball-Reference. 

Per Baseball Savant, Marte is a quality defender in center field, having posted three outs above average and three runs prevented in 2021. He split his time between the Miami Marlins and Oakland Athletics last season. 

The Phillies certainly make sense as a destination for Marte. They are trying to win now with Bryce Harper coming off an MVP-caliber season and having re-signed J.T. Realmuto last offseason.

Andrew McCutchen, who has primarily played left field for them over the past three seasons, is a free agent. Odubel Herrera, Philadelphia's primary center fielder, has hit just .253/.308/.409 since the start of 2018. 

The National League East should be better next season. The Atlanta Braves will likely remain formidable in their World Series defense. The New York Mets, as long as their key players stay healthy, are better than their 77-85 record in 2021. 

If the Phillies want to keep pace with those teams, making a big splash in free agency is the easiest way to do so.