​Phillies should be interested in switch-hitting outfielder from Cubs originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.After a terrible showing by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card round against the Atlanta Braves, there’s hope and expectation around Philadelphia that things are going to change this offseason, at least in the simple fact that some new faces should be in town. Philadelphia continues to have a need for help in the outfield, or even just an offensive guy who can come in and make an impact on this lineup. There aren’t a ton of elite free agents available on the offensive side of things, but there is one guy in Ian Happ who could come in and make a decent impact. A report recently suggested Philadelphia could be interested, and it would make plenty of sense.“A player who saw his stats diminished exponentially in 2026 (.218/.326/.412), it will be interesting to see which teams take a shot on him assuming they are getting the Happ of two seasons ago, with the defensive skill set they are missing in the outfield. “If the Phillies fail to land someone like Suzuki, they would be a solid landing spot for Happ,” Bleacher Report wrote.Not to say that Happ is a perfect player in the idea of what Philadelphia needs, but he is an above-average hitter who has proven that throughout his lengthy big league career. If there is one problem, it’s that Happ struck out nearly 200 times this season, finishing with 189 strikeouts. There have been times when Philadelphia strikes out way too much, and adding a player who is strikeout-prone could be a bit of a problem.Ultimately, however, he’s a switch-hitter who can play the outfield when needed and has some pop, hitting 24 home runs this past season, now at least 21 in each of the past four seasons.More MLB news:Dodgers’ Mookie Betts says what every MLB fan needs to hear about superteamsBrother of Blue Jays fan-favorite reportedly wants to play in TorontoPhillies’ Bryce Harper named as trade candidate for Blue Jays, but it shouldn’t ever happenDodgers’ Freedie Freeman reveals exactly what Los Angeles needs to changeDodgers’ Mookie Betts outlines how difficult going back-to-back-to-back will be for Los Angeles