Throughout the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies have been looking for ways to shake up the roster with hopes of competing once again for the upcoming 2025 season. The Phillies no doubt needed some retooling after failing in their quest to get back into the World Series in each of the past two seasons.

In doing so, many of their key regulars from the current roster have been constantly rumored to be on the trade block to help facilitate such a process. Not only that, it has made some of their younger prospects available as well with hopes to get a deal or two ultimately done.

So far, the Phillies have been able to complete one big trade. They managed to acquire starting pitcher and rising star Jesús Luzardo from the Miami Marlins while sacrificing former No. 4 prospect Starlyn Caba, according to MLB Pipeline, as the major piece going the other way. However, other than that, Philadelphia has been quite quiet on the trade front, other than a few other minor yet intriguing deals.

But with the Phillies having many valuable trade chips that they could potentially use to significantly upgrade their current roster, are they failing to take full advantage of the situation to move them, or have they been smart enough to see potential big-time value in the pieces that they have managed to retain? With that, we will now take a closer look at two key players that Philadelphia will regret holding onto and one other player that they’ll be very thankful that they did.

The Phillies will regret holding onto Johan Rojas

With the Phillies signing of veteran outfielder Max Kepler, it has in effect created an outfield logjam that also includes Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas. Philadelphia already indicated that Kepler will be the everyday left fielder for the upcoming season. With the power-hitting Castellanos having his spot secured as well, it comes down to Marsh and Rojas potentially platooning in center field.

However, it is believed that Marsh will get more of the starts, thus pushing Rojas into more of a fourth outfielder role. That makes total sense, since despite Rojas’ elite defense, his offensive production is a far cry from what Marsh can consistently put up in a typical season. In 2024, Rojas registered just a .243 average and .601 OPS with 47 runs scored, three home runs and 32 RBI in 120 games played, whereas Marsh posted a .249 average and .747 OPS with 55 runs scored, 16 home runs and 60 RBI in 135 games of action.

But relegating Rojas to a backup outfielder role reduces the chances of him being able to grow and develop his offensive game, and he will more or less just become a defensive specialist down the road. If that indeed comes to fruition, then his career path will lean towards more of a Cristian Pache rather than the prolific Shane Victorino. We have all seen what the outcome of Pache has turned out to be.

Rather than waste his talent, Rojas should be dealt while prospective teams still see some value in him. Otherwise, he could eventually become just another negligible piece due to the Phillies’ failed attempt to properly develop him.