The Phillies had Brandon Moss. Signed to a minor league deal and playing well at Lehigh Valley, the Phillies summoned Moss from Triple-A on September 16, 2011 and Moss got just six at bats for the Phillies. It turned out that Ryan Howard suffered a major injury and the Phillies could have used Moss, who instead became a star with the Oakland Athletics. 126 Major League home runs and an All-Star appearance later, Moss is a free agent. And, he makes sense for the Phillies.
Looking at the needs the Phillies have, a veteran bat would be a good fit for the lineup to help support the young talent in the lineup. Preferably, the bat would be left-handed, since power sources Maikel Franco and Tommy Joseph are right-handed and could use some balance. Chances are, names such as Josh Reddick and Ian Desmond will be too pricey. But at 33 years old, Moss could be an alternative who will not require a long-term deal. And having hit 28 home runs in 2016, Moss could try to account for some of the home runs the Phillies will miss with Howard moving on.
Moss is mostly thought of as being a first baseman, but the last two seasons with the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals Moss has played more outfield than infield. In fact, in 2016 Moss played a nice mix: 72 games in the outfield and 64 at first base. This would be a benefit to the Phillies, who plan to start the right-handed Tommy Joseph at first base. Moss could serve as a left-handed option at first base while otherwise appearing in the outfield. If the Phillies faced a tough right-handed pitcher, they could field an outfield that includes Cody Asche, Odubel Herrera, and maybe eventually Nick Williams while Moss plays first base.
In American League parks, Moss could serve as a designated hitter. In other words, Moss fits the mold of something the Phillies are probably looking for, as evidenced by rumors linking them to the now-signed Martin Prado: someone who is at the same time a veteran bat and who can move around the diamond to accommodate their young players.
Would Moss be open to a reunion with the Phillies? Whether there are hard feelings from his time in Philadelphia depends on which report you read. Moss seemed disappointed when he spoke to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports in June of 2014:
“Philly had kind of showed me what they thought of me when they were looking for a left-handed bench bat late in the year,” Moss recalls. “I had been having a pretty good year at Triple A for them. And they went outside the organization and got another guy. Things like that are when you see what teams think of you. You see where you stand. I read the writing on the wall.”
However, shortly thereafter when he was making his All-Star appearance, Moss seemed to change his tone with Jeff Schuler of the Allentown Morning Call:
"Fans might point a finger at the front office and say, 'How did you not see that? How did you not evaluate that?'" Moss said last month at Citi Field in New York. "But it's like, hey, here's a 28-year-old guy at Triple-A [and] he's doing pretty good, but so what? He's not tearing it up, [and] it's not the big leagues.
"You can't fall in love with a 28-year-old guy that you had for depth," he continued. "I was there for depth, and I knew that. I wasn't going to be a first baseman up there or a right fielder … they had [Raul] Ibanez, they had [Hunter] Pence, they had Dominic Brown coming up, they had [Ryan] Howard. And that's a time when they were trying to win a World Series. That's not a time to experiment with a guy and see what he can do. You're trying to win games, and you can't afford to do that. So I don't think it's very fair to put that on anyone."
Of course, the Phillies also acquired infielder John Bowker, who went 0 for 13 for the Phillies down the stretch.
The question might be whether or not Moss would want to play for a rebuilding Phillies when he might have some options to play for a team who gives him a better shot of a championship, since at 33 years old, Moss could be signing his last contract. If the Phillies were able to land Moss, he could be just what the Phillies need for 2017. Unlikely to get a qualifying offer from the St. Louis Cardinals, all he would cost them is money.
