Signings The Phillies Could Make To Improve Depth

There are some signings the Philadelphia Phillies can make to expand their pitching and outfield depth. After finally releasing Nick Castellanos, the Phillies have an open 40-man roster spot. Justin Crawford will need to be added to the 40-man roster by the time spring training wraps up. Crawford is widely expected to be the Phillies center fielder this season. Zack Wheeler will not be ready for Opening Day creating openings on the pitching side. Furthermore, there are a plethora of free agents at both positions who may be willing to join the Phillies on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Aidan Miller will not be playing outfield during spring training which might be a mistake.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said on a media call on February 9 that the club is looking to add pitching depth. With their being an open bench spot some outfield depth could be added as well. The Phillies lack quality outfield options outside of their expected starters. Johan Rojas, Gabriel Rincones Jr. and Pedro León are the other true outfielders on the Phillies 40-man roster at the moment. Additional Bryan De La Cruz is also a non-roster invitee to spring training. On the pitching side the Phillies roster depth is prospect heavy. While Dombrowski said in response to my question that the team thinks highly of Gage Wood do not expect him to be an option for the 26-man roster until later in the season.

Signings That Would Add To Phillies Depth

Possible Pitching Moves

One obvious way for the Phillies to add starting pitching depth is to bring Walker Buehler back. Buehler had a 3-0 record along with a 0.66 ERA and a 3.72 FIP in three outings with the Phillies in 2025. To add to that Buehler recorded a 1.17 WHIP as well as a 1.33 K/BB rate. While Buehler had some of the worst numbers for a season in 2025, he showed flashes of the more successful version of himself with the Phillies. Buehler also has experience starting and coming out of the bullpen. This flexibility would be useful for the Phillies to have.

Germán Márquez would be another interesting possible addition. Márquez recorded multiple 3.0 fWAR or better seasons while playing his home games at Coors Field. While Márquez has had a 6.00 ERA or worse each of the last two seasons he has never played for a team other than the Colorado Rockies. It may be worth taking a flyer on Márquez and see what he could do when playing in a more pitcher friendly ballpark on a regular basis. It is also worth noting that Márquez missed most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons due to injury.

Possible Outfield Moves

Randal Grichuk could be a good addition to the Phillies as another platoon option. In January, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported that the Phillies had interest in signing Grichuk to a deal. Grichuk has major league career splits of an .819 OPS and a career 118 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers with a career .733 OPS and a career 92 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers. One concern with Grichuk is that he has been shifting towards being more of a DH the last few seasons. Grichuk played 57 games in the outfield in 2024 and 2025 while seeing the DH games increase from 41 in 2024 to a career high 48 in 2025.

While a left-handed batter Mike Tauchman could be another option for the Phillies. Tauchman was non-tendered this offseason by the Chicago White Sox. In 2025 Tauchman recorded a .263/.356/.400 line with nine home runs and 40 RBI. Tauchman had a 115 wRC+ and a .328 BABIP last season. Each of the last three seasons Tauchman has had a 105 wRC+ or better and a 0.50 BB/K rate or better. Moreover, Tauchman has also had a .300 or better BABIP and wOBA each of the last three years. Defensively Tauchman has a career 27 DRS/13 OAA/11 FRV across all three outfield positions.