Phillies mailbag: An unusual offseason, the payroll, and Schwarber and Realmuto's futures

If its felt like an unusual Phillies offseason, there is a reason: The Phillies have not signed a free agent to a multiyear contract.

They spent $10 million on Max Kepler, $8.5 million on Jordan Romano and another $4 million on Joe Ross.

Their biggest acquisition, Jesus Luzardo, came in a trade .

They could still enter 2025 carrying the second-highest payroll in Major League Baseball.

Advertisement But the last time the Phillies went an entire winter without agreeing to a multiyear deal with a free agent was between the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

That offseason saw the club re-sign Jeremy Hellickson while adding Michael Saunders, Joaquin Benoit and Andres Blanco all on one-year contracts.

A little different.

There was more to it then; the Phillies, obviously, were in a different state.

That 2016-17 offseason was the third consecutive one in which they did not sign a free agent to a multiyear deal.

In fact, from the end of the 2012 season through 2017, these were the free agents the Phillies signed to multiyear deals: Mike Adams, Marlon Byrd and Carlos Ruiz.

They have since signed 16 multiyear free-agent deals just none this offseason.

Thank you to everyone who submitted mailbag questions.

Here, we tried to answer the ones that had the most overlap.

Questions have been edited for clarity.

While not at the level of the Dodgers , the Phillies have one of the highest payrolls in MLB .

That being said, are they at, or close to, their upper limit of what ownership is willing to spend or is there still another level they could go if the right opportunity opened up in the future? Andrew M.

The test is going to be 2026.

There is a lot of chatter about how the Phillies have all this money coming off the books following 2025, and this is true.

They have $74.15 million in average annual value committed in 2025 to impending free agents.

But the reality is a bit different.

For one, theyd have to take a large chunk of that money to replace J.T.

Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber, two important pieces of the roster.

Schwarber is probably due some sort of raise, especially if the Phillies try to negotiate a two- or three-year extension now.

Realmuto wont equal his current $23.1 million AAV, but how much will the Phillies have to spend to retain him or sign another starting-caliber catcher? Advertisement Its not really money coming off the books if you need to spend it to fill the holes.

Now, there is real money that comes off the books after the 2026 season.

Thats $38 million in AAV for Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker.

Castellanos is still a contributor in 2025, but Walkers money is essentially dead weight.

So, by the end of 2026, the Phillies can take those funds and apply them to other needs.

Knowing that, is ownership willing to carry a huge payroll figure in 2026? Take the one-year hit with the $38 million in relief that comes after the season.

That annual salary number would put them in play for any number of star free agents next offseason.

Well see.

Realmuto and Schwarber are both in the last years of their contracts.

Obviously, how well they play will be a factor in the Phillies trying to retain either and to what degree.

Another factor will be how well potential replacements play and/or develop.

Both are leaders on the team as well.

It doesnt seem likely that they keep both.

Which scenario is most likely: re-sign just Schwarber, re-sign just Realmuto, neither, or both? Mr.

Wilhelm Its a great question.

I wouldnt immediately rule out the Phillies keeping both.

They dont have a catcher in the organization who looks like a viable everyday player in 2026.

That includes Rafael Marchan, who has big-league talent but also real concerns about durability.

He just hasnt stayed on the field enough over the past few years to make the Phillies confident that he can do it.

Maybe the Phillies could pursue a timeshare at catcher in 2026 between Marchan and someone whos currently in another organization.

Or they could just return to Realmuto on a smaller salary.

This is a problem they can discuss after the 2025 season, which will offer more evidence on how Realmuto is aging and whether Marchan can handle a heavier workload.

Advertisement As for Schwarber, here are the lefty hitters who had a higher OPS in 2024 than he did: Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Yordan Alvarez, Bryce Harper, Gunnar Henderson, Rafael Devers, Corey Seager and Freddie Freeman.

Yeah, they should try to re-sign him.

He turns 32 in March.

There are reasons to believe he can be a successful designated hitter into his mid-30s.

Are there any moves for the Phillies to make prior to Opening Day or will they stand pat? Brad S.

There are some smaller moves for them to make.

Their Triple-A outfield is woefully thin.

They need at least one or two righty-hitting outfielders on minor-league deals.

But theyre likely done handing out guaranteed money.

If a decent reliever remains unsigned as camps open and falls into their lap on a one-year deal, sure.

But probably not.

I like Max Kepler generally, but Im not convinced hes going to move the needle for the Phils outfield.

It sort of feels like (president of baseball operations) Dave Dombrowski keeps aiming at stopgap, Band-Aid players, hoping its good enough to get the job done.

Whats the hesitation for going after a bigger fish? Mxmattiemcd The front offices argument is theyve acquired the bigger fish already.

Thats fair.

This is the first offseason under Dombrowski in which the Phillies wont sign a significant free-agent contract.

(Theyd also argue extending Zack Wheeler last spring for 2025-27 was a major transaction that prevented them from committing bigger dollars in free agency.) I do think well be debating the Kepler decision for months.

Should they have sprung for three years on Jurickson Profar? Were they better off taking the $18.5 million spent on Kepler and Jordan Romano and using it to sign Austin Hays and Jeff Hoffman instead? I dont know.

I suspect if they had re-signed Hoffman and Hays, most fans would be upset with the Phillies returning almost the exact roster from a season ago.

GO DEEPER Max Kepler hopes to unlock more power and boost a Phillies outfield that struggled to slug What are your thoughts on Mick Abel / Griff McGarry ? Last year to prove themselves in the minors or trade chips at this point? Would they have much value as trade chips? Steven C.

The first thought is I would not group them.

McGarry is more than two years older than Abel, was just passed over by 29 teams in the Rule 5 draft, and is no longer considered a prospect.

It is harsh, but McGarry posted a higher walk rate last season even after transitioning to the bullpen.

He is organizational depth at this point.

The Phillies will see if something clicks at Triple A.

Abel, 23, has tumbled down prospect lists.

Understandable.

Evaluators were concerned by the lack of results in 2024 but also the downtick in Abels stuff.

He regained some fastball velocity later in the season.

But his command was so inconsistent that it made grading him difficult.

The easiest thing for most evaluators to do was ding him as a non-prospect.

Advertisement I dont think I am there yet.

No doubt, 2025 is a big year for Abel.

If he does show more conviction on the mound, hes not far from being a contributor.

Development is not linear; Abel was one of the younger pitchers in the International League last season.

Its fair to be dubious about his ability to throw quality, consistent strikes.

Teams were still interested in Abel at last summers trade deadline perhaps thinking they could buy low.

The Phillies didnt budge there.

He has to show improvement in 2025.

GO DEEPER As Mick Abel grinds through disappointing season, Phillies prospect searches for lessons Your piece on Orion Kerkering in mid-2023 was the first I had heard of the guy.

So I have to ask: What relievers currently in the organization do you have your eye on that could make an impact this year? Brian E.

Its not a long list.

The Phillies havent had the strongest pipeline of homegrown relievers in the past few years.

One pitcher Im curious to see on the back fields this spring: Alex McFarlane.

He has not appeared in a game since August 2023.

He had Tommy John surgery and is now back on the mound.

McFarlane was a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft.

He was mostly a reliever in college, but the Phillies were trying him as a starter once he entered pro ball.

He throws hard even harder as a reliever.

Given his age (24 in June) and roster status (Rule 5-eligible after this season), the Phillies may commit to McFarlane as a reliever moving forward.

Beyond that, the Phillies drafted nine college relievers on the third day of last years draft.

None of them pitched much in pro ball last year.

One could pop this year.

That is probably wishful thinking.

Knowing most of the roster is set, if you had to pick a spring training dark horse to break camp on the 26-man roster who would it be? Rj K.

Anyone could be that eighth reliever.

So this might not qualify as a dark horse, but Michael Mercado is intriguing if the Phillies move him back to a bullpen role.

There was a robust debate last spring about whether Mercado should be a starter or reliever and the Phillies settled somewhere in the middle.

Nine homers allowed in 13 big-league innings wasnt ...

great.

There were hints that Mercado had the stuff to beat major-league hitters.

His best inning was probably his debut when he was asked to go only one inning.

He always seemed like someone better suited for shorter bursts.

Maybe that move is enough to propel him this spring.

GO DEEPER Phillies notes: Tapping into upside in 2025, life on the roster bubble, new names to watch If the starting rotation stays relatively healthy and Andrew Painter has no setbacks, would you say its likely Ranger Suarez is traded around the deadline? Don L.

No, if anything, I could see them moving Suarez (or a different starter) to the bullpen.

But my guess is not everyone stays healthy.

If you could predict one prospect (other than Painter) to make an impact this year, who would you pick? Will W.

Aidan Miller.

Hes a few months younger than Justin Crawford and was drafted a year after him, but Miller is a tick more polished.

That is not to diminish Crawfords prospect status, which has generated many takes (some of them hot).

Crawford needs time to add strength; every players development is different.

Hes a good prospect.

Advertisement Now, take this for what it is: Dombrowski has mentioned Crawford in the same breath as Painter just in terms of closeness to the majors.

The Phillies might have a greater 2025 need in the outfield than the infield.

The real answer is Painter, even if you said I couldnt pick him.

GO DEEPER Phillies spring training preview: A rundown of the non-roster invitees (Top photo of Kyle Schwarber and J.T.

Realmuto : Bill Streicher / Imagn Images).

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