After former Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman blew a save and a second former Phillies pitcher – Seranthony Dominguez – walked a tightrope the Toronto Blue Jays failed to knock off the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series Saturday night. I guess they just ran into the wrong team, huh, Dave Dombrowski.

Anyway, with the final out, the fun really got underway in baseball. Yes, we’ve been prognosticating for weeks, but now, this “stuff” is getting serious. Immediately following the game, nine Phillies players filed for free agency. The list included pitchers Walker Buehler, Tim Mayza, David Robertson, Jordan Romano, Ranger Suarez, and Lou Trivino. Position players Max Kepler, J.T.Realmuto, and yes, Kyle Schwarber all signed up for free agency.

We know that this is just making official what we already knew. We’ll get to the bigger names later, but let’s start with some of the “lesser” names. Walker Buehler is an interesting name. He had eyed Philadelphia as a landing spot when the Red Sox let him go and he came in and didn’t have a big role to play, but did everything the team asked and gave a lift at a crucial time in the season. It could be worth having a conversation with him to see what type of role he would want and how much money he would want. Mayza and Trivino have decent arms and likely won’t be too expensive. Robertson is likely to do what he did in 2025 and sit out the first half of the season and wait to see who looks like a contender in need of a bullpen arm, so count him out. No offense, but I had trouble typing the name Jordan Romano; it’s hard to type when you are clapping. In other words: “He gone.”

Now then, there’s Ranger Suarez. The guy is a great pitcher and my only hope is that he signs elsewhere. He is 30 years old, has some back issues, and will have a lot of money thrown at him. Jim Bowden of The Athletic is predicting a six-year, $164-million deal for Suarez. That’s no a bad deal, but the Phillies already have Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Jesus Luzardo, and Cristopher Sanchez in the rotation. They also have a question mark in Taijuan Walker and might consider Buehler either to take over Walker’s swingman role or as the fifth starter. And of course, Andrew Painter is there laying in wait. After a full, healthy season, he’s over the injury concern and while lefties pound the crap out of him, he may be reaching that point where you throw him into the deep end of the pool and see if he’s good or if you have to jump in and save him with a return to Triple-A.

Among the position players, Dombrowski basically said that Kepler is gone in favor of Justin Crawford. That’s a good move as long as the Phillies put Crawford in either left or center and leave him there. None of this platooning, none of the messing around with him; just play the kid! J.T. Realmuto sort of has the Phillies in a full-nelson. Yes, his offense is fading, but not to the point where he’s a detriment to the team. Plus, he is still the best in the business at handling pitchers and calling games. His defense is also solid, which for a catcher is perhaps the biggest commodity. And, do you want to hear P.A. announcer Dan Baker on Opening Day 2026 say “batting ninth and catching; Rafael Marchan (or Garrett Stubbs). Nobody else in the minors is ready and the free agent market is not stacked with good catchers. A trade for a quality backstop is going to cost in terms of prospects, and then you have a new guy for the pitching staff to get used to. Bowden is predicting two-years, $34-million, but I think a home town discount may be possible.

Now then, let’s discuss Kyle Schwarber. Teams have five days from the end of the World Series to negotiate with their own free agents without other teams getting involved further than saying “we’re interested.” Money can’t – or more precisely isn’t supposed to be – talked about. It says right here that the longer it takes for Schwarber to sign, the less chance is that it will be the Phillies signing him. Unfortunately, the Mets will probably go hard after him, and that would be bad for the Phillies. But with a projected deal of five years, $160-million, the Phillies have to be out. Not for financial reasons, but for length of years. Schwarber is 32 and while he is primarily working as a dedicated DH these days, that takes him late into his 30s and it’s possible that a contract of that length would become an albatross. Now, four years $130-million with a mutual option for a fifth year in the neighborhood of $32-million, that might work.

When it comes to a guy like Schwarber, you aren’t going to replace his numbers, so you have to just do the best that you can. One way to help replace some of those numbers would be to find a high-profile, big-batted, right-handed hitter to park behind Bryce Harper to protect him in the lineup. Not that those types of guys are easy to find, but that would give you added production by Bryce Harper and the production of the new guy, hopefully putting a dent in replacing Schwarber’s stats.

After all, the Phillies are a team in need of change. They have holes and most of us – me included – got caught up in the excitement of Schwarber chasing Ryan Howard’s home run record and the added production that Harrison Bader gave us at the deadline, not to mention the light show and pitching that is Jhoan Duran. This team simply has to change.

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