Phillies’ Welcome A $98,698.5 Juan Soto In The Free Agency…
We’re only seven games into the season, but it’s always a good time to look ahead at potential free agents who the Phillies may be able to lure to Philadelphia.
Especially when it’s someone like Juan Soto.
The superstar is on his third team in four years, on a one-year, $31 million contract with the New York Yankees, before he hits free agency this offseason. He will most definitely be one of the most highly sought-after free agents in baseball history.
At 25 years old, Soto has already won a World Series, has 161 career home runs, 487 career RBI, and 778 career hits, all in seven seasons. The sky is the limit for Soto, and the entire league would love the chance to make a run at him.
What we don’t know yet is what Juan Soto will be looking for when he is being courted in free agency?
Does he want to win more championships? Is he looking for a big market team? Maybe he’s keen on nice weather year-round? Or maybe he wants familiarity and a place he can call home.
The Phillies might be able to offer Juan Soto a feeling of home
As reported by The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli, in 2022, when Juan Soto was still with the Washington Nationals, he felt the loss of one of his most trusted partners, hitting coach Kevin Long (subscription required). Long was replaced by Darnell Coles and multiple team sources said that it simply just wasn’t a good fit for Soto.
During his five-year stint with the Nationals and Long, Soto slashed .291/.427/.538 for an OPS of .966, 199 home runs, 358 RBI, and 569 hits.
Long has been with the Phillies as their hitting coach since the 2022 season and has had some terrific success. The popular coach clearly has a great reputation and a lasting impression on the players he works with. The current Phillies already have a few high-profile players who were coached by Long in the past and chose the Phillies in free agency. Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber were all one-time Washington Nationals coached by Long.
Not to mention, soon-to-be free agent Soto also happened to play with those same three former Nationals players.
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Phillies’ Top Key Player Disclose Reason For An Offensive Tribulation Season…
The Philadelphia Phillies put together an impressive 10th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, winning the game 5-3. Arguably more important than anything else in the win was Johan Rojas going 3-4 with an RBI.
The 22-year-old has certainly struggled this season, evident by his .154/.241/.192 slash line. Rojas has four hits on the season, meaning he had more hits on Monday than he had in the entire year to date prior to that contest.
While Rojas slashed .302/.342/.430 in 2023, he was one of the worst players in baseball during the postseason. It was clear in October that he’d struggle offensively unless things changed, and that’s exactly what’s happening in the early part of the season.
Some have suggested moving him down to the minors and that conversation has been warranted. The Phillies have a real chance to win a World Series and having a free out at the bottom of the lineup typically doesn’t lead to much success.
Perhaps this three-hit game can be what Rojas needed to get going. Baseball is a game of confidence, and considering he only has 193 big-league plate appearances, some struggles are to be expected.
He spoke about his three-hit night, talking about his approach at the plate. He had the following to say, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
“I think that I was a little shy at the plate before, right now what I can do is be myself,” Rojas said through the team’s interpreter.
If he can continue to do what he did, or at the very least, take good at-bats, it changes the potential of this offense. Philadelphia will need production out of everyone if they want to be the team everyone knows they can be, including Rojas.