Two Phillies Offseason Additions Showing All-Star Potential Early This Season

The Philadelphia Phillies are off to a strong start this season, with the franchise looking to prove that they are one of the best in the National League. 

This winter, there was a lot of speculation that the Phillies might look like a different team compared to the one that just won the NL East in 2024. 

It was certainly a disappointing early exit for Philadelphia, but this was a team that had a lot of talent still. 

While the core of the team is getting older and some key players will be hitting free agency at the end of the year, the Phillies are built to win now. 

Over the winter, Philadelphia made three notable additions. They signed two-time All-Star Jordan Romano to be their new closer. Also in free agency, they added outfielder Max Kepler. 

Furthermore, on the trade market, they were able to work out a deal to bring Jesus Luzardo in. 

While the Romano signing was arguably the most flashy with his prior experience as an All-Star, the decisions to bring in Luzardo and Kepler might end up being the most beneficial. 

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com recently wrote about the biggest takeaway early on this season for the Phillies being that two of their additions this offseason look more like All-Star caliber players compared to just complementary pieces.

“Kepler has been hitting the ball hard, including his first homer in Monday’s home opener. If both return to prior form, the Phillies have an All-Star caliber starter and an All-Star caliber left fielder.”

Both Kepler and Luzardo filled needs for Philadelphia and made a lot of sense when the moves were made. 

In the postseason especially, the Phillies struggled to get any offensive production from outfielders other than Nick Castellanos. This resulted in the lineup looking a lot shorter than it should have been, and helped contribute to them being eliminated. 

With the addition of the talented southpaw, he gave them a massive upgrade to the fifth starter spot in the rotation. 

Taijuan Walker was terrible in 2024, and Philadelphia knew that they couldn’t rely solely on him to be their start coming into 2025. However, due to an injury to Ranger Suarez, he is still in the rotation to begin the year. 

Even though when they initially acquired both players they might have been thought to be more complimentary pieces, the two of them are showing some serious upside early on. 

Luzardo has been lights out on the mound and Kepler is hitting the ball very well early. If both end up being All-Star caliber players, a strong offseason will turn into an excellent one for the Phillies.