It came too soon — a pivotal offseason for the Phillies as they scratch their heads after an embarrassing loss to the Mets in the NLDS.
The first thing the team will need to decide is what they should do with the 26 men who got them the 2-seed in the National League with 95 wins this past season. Who should stay, and who should go?
It would be lunacy to return the entire roster. They need some changes. The bullpen was obviously an issue in the playoffs, the team did not have enough contact hitters, nor did it have the best defense in place to handle the young and feisty Mets. But just how and should the team approach these necessary changes?
Our next visit to this topic will touch on a player who is a tradable asset, but also a very much beloved member of the Phillies' "Daycare" – second baseman Bryson Stott.
Phillies stay or go
The stars | The bullpen | The bench | Alec Bohm | Taijuan Walker
Bryson Stott | Brandon Marsh | Johan Rojas | Nick Castellanos | Rob Thomson
Why he should stay?
There are a lot of pros and cons to work through when it comes to Stott's performance on the field. But let's start with some facts and logistics. Stott is valuable to the Phillies, a team with a huge payroll that might climb even higher in 2025, because as a soon-to-be fourth-year MLB player, he is under team control through 2027.
Stott made around $768,000 last season and will definitely be getting a raise in each of the next three years when he will be eligible for arbitration. Spotrac estimates he will earn just under $3 million next season. That's a total steal.
Stott is a homegrown player, a first-round pick that the team feels like it got right, and provides a lot to the Phillies on the field:
• He's a finalist for a Gold Glove at second base for the second straight year and has been the team's best defensive infielder for two years now.
• Stott has flashed a lot of clutch as a Phillie, most recently with his go-ahead two-run triple in Game 2 of the NLDS, the team's only win over the Mets.
BRYSON STOTT! ON HIS BIRTHDAY!
TWO-RUN TRIPLE! PHILLIES LEAD! #NLDS pic.twitter.com/SeXkBQzDdR— MLB (@MLB) October 6, 2024
• Stott ranked in the top 10 among MLB second basemen offensively in some key categories last year, including runs (9th), WAR (10th), RBI (10th), walks (5th) and on-base percentage (8th).
• He led the Phillies with 32 stolen bases, getting caught only three times.
He might not be a star, but he's a proficient two-way player, and those are in short supply. There is also some positional flexibility, which the Phillies covet. Should the team decide to move Trea Turner or Alec Bohm to a new position (or a new team), Stott has started games at both shortstop and third base. He's also just 27 and could show more improvement in his fourth season in 2025.
Why he should go?
We've led with this a few times in our stay or go series, but the Phillies have a player under contract at every position for next year, and if they want to improve, they'll need to make some upgrades at spots with an established player in place.
In a press conference Tuesday, Phillies President Dave Dombrowski shared that the team was open to trading a good player for a good player. Perhaps Stott fits the bill.
Stott improved offensively from Year 1 to Year 2 — but did not improve in Year 3. A look at some basic metrics from his first three years, with very close to the same number of plate appearances in each:
| Season | Slash | HR, RBI, 2B |
| 2022 | .234/.295/.358 | 10, 49, 19 |
| 2023 | .280/.329/.419 | 15, 62, 32 |
| 2024 | .245/.315/.356 | 11, 57, 19 |
Stott obviously hopes he can add another decade of seasons to his Baseball-Reference page, and three seasons is a very small sample size.
The Phillies need more patient hitters who get on base, and if they see an avenue to get there via the trade market, Stott could be an attractive piece with his team control and track record. The team also was lefty heavy at the plate, though it didn't exactly hurt them statistically as they actually hit better against lefties than righties last year. Philadelphia has four regular hitters who hit from the left side, with Stott and Brandon Marsh being particularly bad against like-throwing pitchers.
Stott is a player with weaknesses (who isn't?), and from 10,000 feet away, his roster spot is one that could be improved upon if there's some sort of Stott plus top prospect for a star infielder deal on the table somewhere this winter.
Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
