Examining why Phillies should pursue Juan Soto

MLB free agency is right around the corner, and a huge name will hit the market. Juan Soto will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and multiple teams will be in on him. 

One of those teams is the Philadelphia Phillies. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, “The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to strongly pursue him to team up with Boras client Bryce Harper.” It will be a bidding war, but the Phillies have the money and reasons to go after Soto this offseason.

Why should the Phillies pursue Soto? Let’s explore.

Help in the outfield

One of the Phillies’ main priorities this offseason is the outfield. Should the Phillies win the bidding war, Soto could easily help solidify the outfield — or at least right field. 

The only problem with this is the Phillies may have to move Nick Castellanos. They could possibly move him to left field as he played nine games there back in 2013 with the Detroit Tigers. The Phillies should do everything in their power to shore up the outfield and adding Soto would do just that. 

Soto is a solid outfielder who doesn’t make many errors and can play all over the outfield. He spent most of 2024 in right field but played six games in left and was the Yankees’ designated hitter in five games. 

In 300 total chances for a put-out, Soto converted 289 of them. He also made only one error throughout the entire 2024 season. 

Familiar faces

Soto would be no stranger to the Phillies should he land with them. Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner have all played with Soto in their days with the Washington Nationals.

Another familiar face would be Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long. Soto spent four years in Washington with Long who helped him through his first few years in the major leagues. They won a World Series ring together in 2019. 

This is an advantage that the Phillies have that other teams don’t and may play a factor in which team Soto chooses. 

Hitter-friendly ballpark

The Phillies play their home games at Citizens Bank Park, which is known to be a hitter-friendly ballpark. This may come as an advantage to Soto. 

What started out as Veterans Stadium and is now Citizens Bank Bark, this ballpark has definitely had its fair share of modifications that make it hitter-friendly. 

The left field wall was moved back five feet after the 2005 season. The park’s outfield fences were pushed back in 2007, and now the porches down the line and power alleys aren’t deep. 

The Phillies now have Monty’s Angle in left field, which is the toughest spot in the entire ballpark. While it may be the toughest spot, batters who hit a ball there may be running for days. The angle was named after former Phillies manager David Montgomery. The angle was announced during Montgomery’s induction into the team’s Wall of Fame back in August 2024.