The rebuilding Philadelphia Phillies escaped the cellar of the National League East Division in the 2016 season. Despite improving by seven games in the standings, the club continued to show significant shortcomings.
The greatest area of short-term concern for the Fightin’ Phils remains with offensive production from the lineup. The 2016 Phillies were the worst offensive team in baseball.
This past season, the Phillies finished last in runs scored (610) by a wide margin. The 29th place team, the division rival Atlanta Braves, scored 649 times. The top two scoring teams in the NL, the Colorado Rockies and World Series champion Chicago Cubs, scored 845 and 808 runs, respectively.
There has been a great deal of speculation in recent months that the Phillies might be interested in adding a new bat to their outfield mix. This addition would come either from signing an available free agent or via trade.
One new outfielder has already been brought on board. The Phillies traded for Howie Kendrick, installing him as the new left fielder. It is believed now that the club is looking to add a more proven right fielder, or a left-handed bat to platoon at first base with Tommy Joseph.
On Sunday morning, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail was a guest on MLB Network Radio’s “Front Office” program. Per Jim Bowden, MacPhail stated that the Phillies are indeed looking to add a left-handed bat.
