During his end-of-year press conference on Oct. 15, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski noted that the club’s outfield is more uncertain than the infield heading into 2025.

The only player who figures to have an everyday spot in the outfield next season is Nick Castellanos. Brandon Marsh hasn’t been a full-time player during his time in Philadelphia. Johan Rojas isn’t guaranteed to be the team’s everyday center fielder at the start of next season, per Dombrowski.

Running a platoon of Marsh and Rojas in the center seems like a plausible scenario for the 2025 Phillies. Putting such a scenario in place would create a hole in left field, a position Marsh manned plenty throughout 2024.

With the Phillies seemingly in the market for a left fielder, here are three the club could be interested in signing this winter, along with their respective pros and cons.

Teoscar Hernandez

Hernandez is coming off a career year in which he hit .272/.339/.501 with a 137 OPS+ and a career-high 33 home runs. He was awarded a Silver Slugger for his efforts.

On top of Hernandez’s production, his durability is attractive. He’s played in 130 or more games in each of the last four seasons. According to Baseball Reference, he’s been worth 13 wins above replacement over that stretch. 2024 was a career-best in WAR (4.3) for the veteran outfielder.

One of the two-time All-Star’s cons is that he might be too similar to the type of hitter commonly found in the Phillies’ lineup. He doesn’t walk a lot and has a tendency to strike out. He also chases pitches at a high rate.

Another minus for Hernandez is his defense. He’s a below-average defender, and as he enters his age-32 season, it’s hard to think that his glove work will improve moving forward.

Hernandez would be a nice addition to the middle of the Phillies’ lineup. But his offensive profile, defense, and age shouldn’t be ignored.

Jurickson Profar

Like Hernandez, Profar is coming off a career year. In 2024, the switch-hitter slashed .280/.380/.459 with a career-best 134 OPS+.

Once considered the best prospect in baseball, Profar looked like the player many thought he’d become more than a decade ago. He was a first-time All-Star last season and won his first Silver Slugger Award.

Unlike Hernandez, Profar’s offensive profile is different than most of the Phillies’ current lineup. He tends to work counts, not chase pitches, and draws walks. Profar doesn’t strike out a lot, either. In 2024, he walked 11.4% of the time while striking out in 15.1% of his plate appearances. Both marks were some of the best in the majors.

Like Hernandez, Profar’s defense isn’t good. He’s graded out as a well-below-average defender over the last three years. Also like Hernandez, Profar is entering his age-32 season. He probably won’t get any better defensively in the years to come.

Profar has also had a rocky career. After early-career struggles, he was a plus hitter for the Padres in 2022. But in 2023, he looked lost, posting a 77 OPS+ with the Rockies. Profar finished the year strong, though, looking like the 2022 version of himself over the final month of the season after rejoining the Padres.

A less-than-ideal offensive track record, poor defense, and age would be the reasons for the Phillies not to sign Profar. But his ability to be a patient hitter who puts the ball in play is the kind of bat they could be hungry to add.

Tyler O’Neill

A right-handed hitter, O’Neill is also coming off the best season of his major league career. In 473 plate appearances, he hit .241/.336/.511 with 31 home runs and a 132 OPS+.

O’Neill, who turns 30 next June, has been a respectable defender in recent years. Earlier in his career, he won two Gold Gloves with the Cardinals. Another plus for O’Neill is his ability to draw walks at the plate while not chasing a lot of pitches.

In terms of cons, O’Neill’s strikeout rate tends to run high. It also drastically increased to 33.6% last season after being 25.2% in 2023.

Perhaps the largest downside with him is his lack of staying healthy; he’s never played in more than 140 big-league games in a single season.

O’Neill could fit the Phillies. He can both slug and be a patient hitter. But not knowing if they’ll get 500 plate appearances from him could keep the club away.

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