Who will disappear from the Phillies before spring?

The High Profile Players Likely Gone

Next, let’s consider the higher level players who could be on various roads to other teams.

The Inky writers agree on only one of the high-profile Phillies leaving – Andrew McCutchen.

The 13-year-veteran and former MVP has a team-option contract worth $15 million with a $3 million buyout. McCutchen put up quite reasonable power numbers for a 34-year-old player, 27 home runs, and 80 RBI in 144 games, but he hit only .222. His OPS was .778, 77th among 132 qualified players.

But none of those numbers is as important as McCutchen’s age next year, 35, or $15 million. In other words, the Phillies will shock the baseball world if they pick up his option. They will thank McCutchen for his leadership, effort, sense of humor, and allow him to consider other options. This is the right decision.

Beyond McCutchen, Breen would have the Phillies let Didi Gregorius go, and Lauber would dispatch one-time closer Hector Neris.

Gregorius suddenly seems a spent player, but he might not be, and letting him go is a problem. He is owed $15.25 million for next season. There seems no way to avoid bringing the shortstop to spring training with a possibly healed elbow, but he should be traded after that point, even if the Phillies have to eat some of his contract.

Hector Neris is another story. No longer the Phillies closer, the right-hander drives most of the team’s fans crazy, but he should be kept as the team’s seventh or eighth inning reliever. His special pitch, the split-finger fastball, is a bit too inconsistent for him to close, but he has learned how to handle that better than he once did. (Golly, maybe he has to go to other pitches momentarily if the split isn’t working well. Maybe a well-located 95-mph, straighter fastball. He can do that.)

Neris is a free agent, should be relatively affordable, and is a good clubhouse presence. Don’t be surprised, though, if the Phillies brain trust thinks they can find someone equivalent for less than he deserves, about $6 million.

Among the others discussed by Lauber and Breen, some further comment is warranted.