January 16, 2026
Kevin Sousa/Imagn Images
Will the Phillies make a run at the last superstar hitter left on the market?
In a shocking move that will surely have Phillies fans in a tizzy, the Mets swooped in at the 11th hour and more or less stole stud infield free agent Bo Bichette away from Philly.
We're not kidding:
The Phillies had agreed to Bo Bichette’s request for a 7-year, $200 million deal last night and believed they would sign him until the Mets swooped in with their 3-year, $126 million offer after losing out in in the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 16, 2026
The Phillies were never going to offer Bichette $42 million a year with a pair of opt outs in between. Bichette is in Queens and the Phillies are now left scrambling. They have reportedly agreed on a deal to keep J.T. Realmuto in town, but that isn't enough fire power.
They were right to swing for the fences.
The Dodgers are reloading, and the Mets are trying to challenge the Phillies in the NL East. Philadelphia desperately needs to improve its offense somehow.
There are not too many big names left but there are some, most notably outfielder Cody Bellinger, who is probably heading back to the Yankees. But maybe the Phillies should get in on that?
Bellinger is 30, and his left-handed hitting isn't ideal. But perhaps they can use the same line of thinking they were using on Bichette. The Phillies were prepared to trade away Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott to make room in the infield — why not trade Brandon Marsh, also a lefty, to make room in the outfield?
The one-time MVP slashed .272/.334/.480 with the Yankees last season with 29 homers and 98 RBI. He might hit from the wrong side, but he does add what the Phillies need. They could still put top outfield prospect Justin Crawford and free agent signee Adolis García in the other outfield spots.
Aside from Bellinger a few other upgrade candidates are still available:
Eugenio Suárez: A righty who hit 49 homers last year could still be an upgrade, at least as far as power goes, over Bohm at third. He is 33 and a two-time All-Star.
Luis Arráez: He has a few strikes against him — he is a lefty and he has little to no power — but he's a three-time batting champ who can play all over the infield and is still just 28.
Harrison Bader: He broke out with the Phillies last year and from the right side could find a spot in the outfield even with García in the mix.
Rhys Hoskins: We're really grasping at straws now but the pickins are slim. Hoskins has power from the right side, but he plays first base and would prompt some kind of Bryce Harper move back to the outfield which is unlikely.
Most other position-playing free agents offer a marginal upgrade, if any upgrade at all.
Realmuto might be all the Phillies can do, which makes this another offseason with high hopes and little aggression from the front office. They're still going to be a contender in the postseason, but with very little new blood from last fall, the team definitely is lacking momentum heading to spring training.
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