MLB.com Writer Says Phillies Need Kyle Tucker The Most

MLB.com writer Mike Petriello ranked the Philadelphia Phillies as the team that needs free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker the most. Petriello writes the Phillies current outfield projects to rank 27th out of the 30 major league outfields heading into the season. The Phillies have been looking for a long term outfield solution for years now. Justin Crawford arriving in the majors will help address one of the three outfield positions. The team has signed Adolis García to be the right fielder for the 2026 season. Additionally, the team will move on from Nick Castellanos at some point. García will replace Castellanos in right field but it is not a long term fix at the position. Tucker is the top free agent outfielder on the market this offseason and left field is still a question mark.

Phillies Have Need For Tucker But Probably Will Not Sign Him

Why Signing Tucker Makes Sense

Last season with the Chicago Cubs, Tucker had a .266/.377/.464 line with 22 home runs and 73 RBI in 136 games. Tucker recorded a 136 wRC+ and a .282 BABIP in 2025. Furthermore, Tucker had an outstanding 0.99 BB/K rate along with an impressive .363 wOBA last year. Each season where Tucker has played in at least 75 games he has not had a strikeout rate above 20.0% or a walk rate below 9.0% including 2024 where he had a 1.04 BB/K rate. In those same seasons Tucker has had an OPS of .800 or better in all of them. 2022 and 2023 saw Tucker have at least 25 home runs and at least 25 stolen bases. Heading into his age-29 season, Tucker is a player the Phillies could sign and have for the long term.

Factors That Will Lead To A Different Outcome

The Phillies have been rumored as a potential landing spot for infielder Bo Bichette if catcher J.T. Realmuto does not re-sign with the club. As Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic noted in a recent article, the Phillies are approaching the top luxury tax threshold of $304 million. Any team that goes over that mark has to pay 110% in the luxury tax on every dollar spent over the line. Signing Bichette or Tucker as well as re-signing Realmuto will put the Phillies over that threshold. According to Rosenthal, the Phillies are currently $4 million below that line. Rosenthal also notes that the Phillies have a lot of money coming off of the books after the 2026 season. The club may need to pay the price for the 2026 season for the long term gain of the club.

What Will Happen Instead

It appears the Phillies will not sign Tucker or any notable free agent outfielder for that matter. After signing García, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowksi indicated the outfield was set. García in right field, Crawford in center field and Brandon Marsh platooning with a right-handed bat in left field. Matt Gelb of The Athletic recently reported the Phillies have interest in free agent outfielder Randal Grichuk as a platoon partner for Marsh. The Phillies also have internal options for the role including Otto Kemp and Weston Wilson. Tucker would be a huge addition for the Phillies outfield and would likely lead to a Marsh trade. However the Phillies seem content to sign a low-tier outfielder to platoon with Marsh in left field.