The Phillies are staring at another offseason of hard decisions, and the list starts with who still belongs in the core and who doesn’t. After a deflating playoff exit last week, Philadelphia is entering year six of a competitive window that has been shrinking fast. Not everybody needs to be shipped out, but the front office can’t afford to treat this roster like it’s one piece away, either.
If the Phillies are mapping out 2027 right now, Alex McFarlane has to be part of it. The 25-year-old stepped into a bullpen that fell apart this season and quickly became interim manager Don Mattingly’s second-best option in late-game spots. His triple-digit heater and wipeout slider give him real value at the back end, and with six more years of team control left, he looks like one of the few bullpen pieces worth building around.
Andrew Painter belongs in that same bucket, even after a rough first look in the majors. The 23-year-old right-hander has sat near the top of prospect rankings for years, and after losing two seasons to Tommy John surgery, he finally reached the big leagues.
His first stint was rough, but after being recalled in late July, he settled in and posted a 3.65 ERA over 11 starts. He also handled a high-pressure three-inning relief outing in the Wild Card Series.
If the Phillies are serious about getting back to October in 2027, they need Painter’s rise to keep going.
Aidan Miller is another name the organization can’t afford to lose sight of. The 2023 first-round pick was supposed to be the shortstop - or third baseman, depending on who was talking - of the future, and he looked close to major league ready last season.
In 116 games split between Double and Triple-A, he hit .264/.392/.433 with 43 extra-base hits and 59 stolen bases. A back injury wrecked most of this season, limiting him to four minor league games at the end, but he finished 2026 healthy and even logged a cameo in the Arizona Fall League.
If he stays healthy over the next few months, he could be part of the infield picture sooner rather than later.
The trade and roster-cut conversation gets a lot less comfortable when the focus shifts to Brandon Marsh. He’s shown real upside over his four-and-a-half seasons in Philadelphia and even made an All-Star team this past summer, but the second half of his season was a mess and dragged down his overall numbers.
With one year of team control left, he’s at the point where a fresh start could make sense for both sides. The Phillies shouldn’t just dump him, but if another club offers a quality prospect or two - or maybe a dependable bullpen arm - they’d have to listen.
And with Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki available in free agency, there’s at least a path to a bigger upgrade.
Orion Kerkering feels like a move the Phillies should have made already. The right-hander has plenty of talent, but the stage has repeatedly gotten the better of him.
Last October, he showed exactly how costly those struggles could be when he threw the Phillies’ season away, and this year’s collapse only reinforced the concern. At 25, he may need a new setting to reset.
His trade value has taken a hit, but there should still be a team willing to take a chance on his stuff for a mid-level prospect or two.
Then there’s the awkward, expensive part of the conversation: Trea Turner and Aaron Nola. They’re not realistic easy outs, but they’re the kind of contracts Philadelphia has to at least think about.
Dave Dombrowski has built a roster loaded with players on the wrong side of 30, and while Zack Wheeler, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber have still delivered, Turner, Nola and J.T. Realmuto have not done enough.
The payroll is over $300 million, and the roster has taken on a stars-and-scrubs look where the stars didn’t carry enough weight.
The Phillies do have some money coming off the books this offseason, but not enough to fix all the holes. Turner and Nola both had rough 2026 seasons, even if Nola steadied himself somewhat in the second half, and both are 33 now.
Moving off either deal would be difficult. Philadelphia would probably have to eat salary and attach prospect value to make it happen.
But if that kind of move opens the door to adding the help this roster badly needs, the Phillies may have to set pride aside and do it.
In Other News...
Bryce Harper Trade Talk Just Created A Phillies Offseason Debate
The Phillies early postseason exit has already pushed the offseason conversation into uncomfortable territory, and one of the biggest questions hanging over the front office involves a player who has defined the franchises modern era. Bryce Harper, the former NL MVP, has suddenly become part of the roster-changes debate as Philadelphia weighs how aggressively it wants to reshape a team that came up short again in October.
Among the clubs being mentioned as possible landing spots are the Red Sox, Cubs and Yankees, all teams with needs and the financial flexibility to at least make the discussion plausible. Nothing official has surfaced, and there is still a long way to go before any move becomes real, but the fact that Harper is even part of the offseason chatter shows how wide the Phillies reset could get. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Risk Losing A Rising Front Office Voice Over Dombrowski Move
The Phillies could be facing a quieter kind of offseason loss, one that does not show up on a lineup card but still matters to how the organization is run. Sam Fuld, who has been in the clubs business side, is reportedly drawing interest from the Athletics for a lead role in their baseball operations department, a reminder that front office talent gets poached almost as often as players do. For a team that has leaned on a stable decision-making structure in recent years, losing a rising voice from inside the building would be another example of how much of the modern competition happens away from the field.
At the same time, the bigger organizational picture is shifting around Dave Dombrowski, whose expected contract extension points to continuity at the top. The interesting part for the Phillies is what comes after that stability, with a succession plan potentially tied to general manager Preston Mattingly, giving the club a clearer long-term roadmap even as other teams come calling for its personnel. Front offices are supposed to build depth everywhere, and the Phillies may be about to find out whether that includes enough depth to keep one of their own from being pulled into a new opportunity elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Now Face A Tough Brandon Marsh Decision
The Phillies spent the summer looking like a team built for another deep October run, only to see the postseason end early against the Braves. One of the bigger reasons their season never fully found its footing was Brandon Marsh, who looked like an All-Star in the first half and a much different player after the break, leaving his overall impact far less steady than the club needed.
Now the front office has to weigh what comes next with an outfielder who still carries real value, but not quite the same kind it did a few months ago. Marshs uneven finish puts the Phillies in a tricky spot as they map out the offseason, balancing what it might take to keep him against the possibility that this may be the moment to listen if another team comes calling. [Read more 🡒]