With the MLB offseason officially underway, it is an excellent time to check in on the Philadelphia Phillies. They came up short in the World Series earlier this month, losing to the Houston Astros in six games. The Phillies enter the offseason looking to upgrade the shortstop position, which is loaded with a ton of star power (Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, and Xander Bogaerts).

Along with the shortstop position, the Phillies could also add to their starting rotation, which took significant strides in the second half of the regular season and the postseason. Below we’ll get you caught up on all the latest news involving the Phillies this week.

  • Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters earlier this week that superstar slugger Bryce Harper will have elbow surgery next Wednesday on his damaged ulnar collateral ligament, per Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber. Lauber said the Phillies won’t know if it will be full-blown Tommy John surgery for Harper until the actual elbow surgery. Philadelphia expects Harper will play next season, but he will miss some time.

 

  • In addition to Harper’s impending surgery, Dombrowski also spoke about the Phillies’ offseason pitching plans. He said the team is keeping a spot open in the rotation for a young pitcher and will look to fill the other spot with a veteran arm, per NBC Sports Philly’s John Clark. Andrew Painter and Mick Abel, the Phillies’ top prospects, will likely compete for that open spot during spring training next year.

 

  • The Phillies announced on Tuesday afternoon that they selected the contract of minor league outfielder Johan Rojas to the team’s 40-man roster. With Rojas now on the 40-man roster, he’s now protected from the Rule 5 draft, which is set to take place in December. This season in the minors, the 22-year-old outfielder slashed .244/.309/.354 with seven home runs and 38 RBI between Double-A Reading and High-A Jersey Shore. Rojas was also incredible on the basepaths with 62 stolen bases and was only caught stealing five times this season.