Phillies 2025 Free Agents, Trade Targets, Offseason Guide After NLCS Exit
For the fourth consecutive year, the Philadelphia Phillies reached the postseason, winning 96 games, which was enough to earn them a second NL East title in a row.
Beyond that, they got great individual performances from a slew of players, most notably Kyle Schwarber and Cristopher Sánchez, who are likely to finish runner-up in voting for NL MVP and Cy Young, respectively.
Unfortunately for the Phillies, they once again failed to get over the hump in the postseason, getting eliminated in the NLDS after having a first-round bye for the second time in as many Octobers. This time, in brutal fashion, with a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 11 innings.
For as much as the Phillies have done right in recent years, there figures to be a lot in flux this offseason for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
Traditional Free Agents
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Kyle Schwarber
Schwarber clubbed 56 home runs in his walk year, the second-most in a single season in franchise history. Over the lifetime of his four-year, $79 million contract, Schwarber hit a staggering 187 regular-season homers.
Both Dombrowski and managing partner John Middleton have expressed a desire to re-sign Schwarber, and the prevailing belief around the sport does seem to be that's the most likely outcome. Certainly, though, there will be other suitors for Schwarber, who is a tremendous clubhouse leader in addition to being one of the game's elite power threats.
Ranger Suárez
Suárez is definitely going to receive a qualifying offer from the Phillies, but he's a difficult player to profile as a free agent. He has shined both as a starter and reliever, including posting a 3.20 ERA across 157.1 innings pitched during the 2025 regular season. He's a great fielder and has a contagious confidence on the mound.
On the flip side, though, he's been on the injured list with a back-related ailment in three of the last four seasons, and his average fastball velocity had dipped from 93.4 mph in 2023 to 91.3 mph in 2025.
With Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker under contract for 2025, while No. 1 prospect Andrew Painter will likely join the rotation, there seems to be a real chance that the Phillies let Suárez walk.
J.T. Realmuto
Realmuto is no longer the best player in baseball, but the Phillies are going to struggle to find an improvement on him even as he enters his age-35 season. Realmuto is still elite at throwing out would-be basestealers, well-respected by the pitchers he works with and can get hot offensively. If the Phillies can bring him back on a two-year deal, that might be their best play.
David Robertson
The Phillies brought Robertson back for a third stint with the team in July, and he pitched to a 4.08 ERA over 20 regular-season appearances. It's probably unlikely that Robertson re-signs with the Phillies in the offseason, although the 40-year-old has said he wants to continue pitching.
Max Kepler
Kepler has some success down the road as a corner outfield platoon option, but delivered mostly disappointing results after signing a one-year, $10 million deal to join the Phillies. In 127 regular-season games, Kepler hit .216 with a .691 OPS.
Jordan Romano
There's a strong argument to be made that Romano was the worst pitcher in baseball in 2025, posting an 8.23 ERA in 49 games this season. At this stage, he's likely considering a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training next year, marking a significant decline for the two-time All-Star.
Contract Option Decisions
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Harrison Bader
Bader has a $10 million mutual option for 2025. The Phillies would surely love to pay him that amount after he was a major spark plug following his acquisition from the Twins. Bader, though, will definitely decline his half of the option after he posted a .796 OPS and 13 defensive runs saved in a career year.
With Justin Crawford looming, the Phillies might be less inclined to give Bader, 31, a multi-year deal this winter. On the open market, Bader should get at least two years, if not three, given the lack of impact talent in center field.
José Alvarado
This is going to be a difficult decision. The Phillies have a $9 million club option on Alvarado for 2025, and if he's at his best, that's a bargain. But Alvarado posted a 3.81 ERA across 28 games this season, with an 80-game performance-enhancing drug suspension mixed in. There's a chance that the idea of him setting up for Jhoan Duran is better than the reality, but the Phillies will probably take that chance.
Biggest Needs
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Obviously, if the Phillies lose any combination of Schwarber, Realmuto and Suárez, that's going to create a major hole. But what this veteran-heavy team really needs from a big-picture perspective is an infusion of cheap, young talent to extend this window of contention.
Painter–the organization's No. 1 prospect—disappointed in the sense that he had a 5.40 ERA over his first 22 starts at Triple-A. With that said, Painter was in his first year back from Tommy John surgery, and he's still only 22, so the organization probably didn't do him justice in the expectations that they set for him. Painter wasn't on the table at the trade deadline, a sign that the Phillies still expect him to be a major part of their future.
Crawford is the son of former All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford and could be a regular as soon as Opening Day next year for the Phillies. The former first-round pick does hit the ball on the ground more than you would like, but he hit .334 with 46 stolen bases as a 21-year-old in 112 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. He's earned the chance to play a key role for the team in 2026.
Aidan Miller—an infielder who at this point has stuck at shortstop—might be a little behind Painter and Crawford, but considering he finished the season at Lehigh Valley, don't rule him out for the second half of 2026. Miller spent the bulk of the season at Double-A Reading, drawing 73 walks, stealing 52 bases and posting an .810 OPS.
The Phillies have done a remarkable job at hitting on free agents and trades, but the long-term goal has always been to improve the farm system and build a steady pipeline of talent. 2026 might be the year that vision starts to become a reality.
Potential Free-Agent Target
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If the Phillies were to lose Schwarber in free agency, Alex Bregman would seem to be a pretty obvious pivot. Bregman is a great leader with a wealth of playoff experience, and wouldn't cost draft-pick compensation to sign since he'll be ineligible for the qualifying offer in the offseason.
Signing Bregman—who posted an .821 OPS with the Boston Red Sox this past season—would give the Phillies some flexibility with Alec Bohm. The Phillies could trade Bohm, who is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $10.3 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility. They could also make him their primary DH, a spot that would be vacated if Schwarber left. Bohm would still be able to spell both Bregman and Bryce Harper at the corner-outfield spots.
Again, the most likely scenario seems to be that the Phillies retain Schwarber, arguably the most popular player on the team. But there's a non-zero chance that Schwarber and Bregman swap teams in free agency this winter.
Potential Trade Target
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If the Phillies re-sign J.T. Realmuto, then he'll be their starting catcher in 2026 with Rafael Marchán as the backup, rendering this slide null and void.
It is worth considering the possibility of what life could look like after Realmuto, particularly given the number of players that the Phillies already have signed well into their 30s.
Adley Rutschman's career has stalled out in Baltimore, and as he gets into his later arbitration seasons, president of baseball operations Mike Elias might be more inclined to listen to trade offers for a player who once seemed destined to be one of the faces of the sport.
Rutschman could be an interesting trade target for the Phillies because he's 28 years old and still has two seasons before he can become a free agent. That's exactly the same profile that Realmuto had when he was acquired by the Phillies from the Miami Marlins entering the 2019 season.
Granted, Rutschman hit .220 with a .673 OPS during a nightmarish 2025. There would be some level of risk in letting Realmuto walk and trading for Rutschman. It's just hard to think there isn't way more in there from Rutschman, given what he showed over his first two-and-a-half MLB seasons.
Projected 2025 Opening Day Roster
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C: J.T. Realmuto
1B: Bryce Harper
2B: Bryson Stott
SS: Trea Turner
3B: Alec Bohm
LF: Mike Yastrzemski
CF: Justin Crawford
RF: Brandon Marsh
DH: Kyle Schwarber
- We've projected that the Phillies will re-sign both Realmuto and Schwarber, while letting Bader walk in free agency and salary-dumping Nick Castellanos via trade entering the final season of his deal.
- Mike Yastrzemski posted an .809 OPS against right-handed pitching this past season. He was basically unplayable against lefties, but with Otto Kemp and/or Weston Wilson, the Phillies have capable platoon partners for him.
Pitching Staff
- Cristopher Sánchez
2. Jesús Luzardo
3. Aaron Nola
4. Nestor Cortes
5. Andrew Painter
Closer: Jhoan Duran
- Zack Wheeler underwent thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September, which comes with a six-to-eight-month recovery timeline. He most likely won't be in the starting rotation on Opening Day.
- The Phillies do have Taijuan Walker under contract for 2026 at $18 million, so it might just be as simple as him being the No. 5 starter to open the season. Walker, though, did spend a portion of this year pitching in relief, and you might feel better if he's the swing guy to open the season.
- A reunion with Walker Buehler might be the obvious answer here, but if the Phillies need another veteran to help replace Suárez and/or give them insurance on Painter. Cortes was an All-Star in 2022, but 2025 was a lost year that he split between the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres. Taking a risk on him for a few million could be a worthwhile investment.
