Breaking: Phillies Among Contenders for Impending Free Agent Superstar
The Philadelphia Phillies have a ton of top talent, but they are starting to get old. Could they look to bring in a younger superstar?
Earlier in the week, the 2026 free agent class got a big boost as it became clear that Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would be testing the open market following this season.
The four-time All-Star will have a busy market and the Phillies should consider being aggressive in their pursuit of him.
Matt Snyder of CBS Sports put together a ranking of all 30 MLB teams in terms of their likelihood to land Guerrero in free agency next year. Philadelphia was listed as the fifth-most likely landing spot and were in the top tier of ‘contenders.’
The near 26-year-old is one of the best young bats in baseball and could be the key to fully unlocking this Phillies lineup.
He is coming off of the second-best campaign of his career, which saw him slash .323/.396/.544 with 30 home runs and 103 RBI.
Not only would adding him give Philadelphia yet another impact bat, but he would turn into the future face of the franchise with their bonafide stars all being all being at least 31 years old.
This is no shot at current first baseman Bryce Harper, either. Adding Guerrero to the roster would allow Harper to return to the outfield, if he is willing, and fix another issue that has been nagging the Phillies for some time now.
Philadelphia needs another bat out there and Harper is about as good as it gets.
The biggest question regarding their pursuit of Guerrero will be who they decide to bring back of their big names that are also going to be free agents next season.
J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber and Ranger Suárez are all on expiring deals and will need new deals. The most likely trade off for the Blue Jays star would be letting Schwarber walk.
The power-hitting leadoff slugger will be in his age 32 season, but is coming off of arguably his best season in a few years.
He posted a .248/.366/.485 slash line with 38 home runs and 104 RBI and led the NL in walks. While that certainly doesn’t need to be replaced, going younger at the position would make sense.
Guerrero would extend their championship window by a few years and serve as a great leader for the next era of Phillies baseball as well.
