Philadelphia Phillies third base options to fill void
By Ben Fadden
The Philadelphia Phillies made their rotation stronger by adding Zack Wheeler, but they now need to fill the third base position this winter.
Maikel Franco never worked out with the Philadelphia Phillies, and after non-tendering him on Monday they need to fill that void through trade or the free-agent market (which is more likely).
One route they could go is to sign a shortstop like Didi Gregorius and then move Segura to third base, or they put Josh Harrison at third or second base and then fill the other position. But for now, let’s focus on external options.
Josh Donaldson is going to be the #1 priority for the Phillies, but he has multiple suitors that might be more willing to overpay him like the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, and the Washington Nationals if Anthony Rendon does indeed choose to play elsewhere. Heck, even the Yankees might be in on Donaldson if they can trade Miguel Andujar.
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Therefore the Phillies will need to loom elsewhere but there are a lot of third basemen on the market that will likely perform better than Franco did last year.
Asdrubal Cabrera seems to be a very underrated player. Yes, he could be limited to playing first and second base as he did with the Washington Nationals, but he is a reliable bat that some people have overlooked, but he would fit well in the Phillies lineup.
Charlie Culberson and Todd Frazier can both play multiple infield positions, and they have experience in the NL East as they have played with the Braves and the Mets respectively.
Travis Shaw is another intriguing option at third base in the free-agent market, as he had a couple of good years with the Milwaukee Brewers at the plate, and he could be a low-risk high reward type of signing if they just give him an invite to Spring Training.
All of those options are just speculation on my part, but they are logical options at the hot corner for the Philadelphia Phillies until highly touted first-round draft pick, Alec Bohm, is brought up.