The Philadelphia Phillies are hoping to make some changes this offseason, coming off another early exit in the postseason. For a franchise that is generally aggressive, one thing can’t be ignored anymore. 

With an early exit in the NL Wild Card Round against the Atlanta Braves, some of the flaws that hurt Philadelphia for most of the season became even more apparent on the big stage in October. 

This was a team that was far from perfect all season, and while they tried to make some moves to help at the trade deadline, they ultimately didn’t work out. 

With the team limping down the stretch and needing the 162nd game to just make the playoffs, it was no surprise to see them eliminated early. Now, with some clear needs, one of them simply can’t be ignored anymore by the Phillies, and they must address it this winter if they want to be a World Series contender. 

Biggest Need Can’t Be Ignored Anymore

While there are a couple of notable needs for Philadelphia, one of the more pressing is to get a solid every day starter in the corner outfield. Last season, the Phillies called up one of their top prospects in Justin Crawford, and while he had some ups and downs in his rookie campaign, he is going to be entering next season as a key player in center field for the team. 

Furthermore, in the first half of the year it looked like the team had seen Brandon Marsh have a breakout campaign. The slugger was one of the best players on Philadelphia in the first half of the year and was playing pretty much every day. 

Unfortunately, he was unable to sustain that level of success in the second half of the year, and there was some major regression. Marsh went from being an All-Star slugger to someone that the Phillies had a hard time putting in the lineup due to his lack of production. 

In right field, their free agent signing of Adolis Garcia did not work out, with him getting injured and also being ineffective before that as well. The team was piecing things together in right field before Bryce Harper got moved out there after the trade deadline. 

Having Harper in right field is not a long-term solution, and he will be back at first base next season. With really just Crawford in center field and a lot of questions surrounding Marsh, the Phillies are a team that needs to add a proven everyday corner outfielder.

This has been a need of the team now for a couple of years and one that hasn’t been properly addressed. An answer likely isn’t coming from an internal option, and that means Philadelphia will have to either go to free agency or the trade market for help.