3 departing Phillies players Angels should steal after latest October failure

Man, this latest playoff series loss from the Philadelphia Phillies could be the toughest one yet. That play from Orion Kerkering, man....there's no coming back from that. The Phillies were scratching and clawing their way to staving off elimination, and a beyond awful PFP ends their season. It surely feels like Bryce Harper will never win the big one, especially with all the impending free agents the Phillies have.

First and foremost, Kyle Schwarber would never sign with the Angels. One, he wants to win another World Series championship. Second, he makes no sense on a team with Mike Trout. You only get one DH! Third, the Angels are not going to shell out the kind of money it takes to acquire Schwarber. JT Realmuto is an interesting name, but he is another pricey player at a position the Angels do not need to fill. Like Schwarber, he will also sign with a contender.

However, the Phillies have plenty of other non-Schwarber, non-Realmuto players who the Angels could assuredly use in 2026.

3 departing Phillies players Angels should steal after latest October failure

Ranger Suárez

Suárez is an absolute beast of a starting pitcher. He can spin balls like few major league pitchers can, and he might not even be tagged with a qualifying offer!

A Kikuchi-Suárez 1-2 in the rotation is pretty good. Both southpaws are not quite good enough to be viewed as a true No. 1, but they are definitely high-end No. 2s who would compliment each other well. They both are effective for different reasons, where Suárez is more of a dice-you-up guy and Kikuchi is more of a go-right-after-you guy.

Suárez is entering his 30s, but his style of pitching will age well. He does not need high-octane velocity to be effective, and he is a workhorse pitcher the Angels could use.

José Alvarado

The 31-year-old Alvarado has a club option for 2026, and it will be interesting to see if the Phillies want to pick that up given how dearly Alvarado let them down. Alvarado's 80-game suspension was a killer for the team that always needs as many relievers they can get. Last year, the Phillies would have undoubtedly used José Alvarado over Orion Kerkering in an extra inning, win or go home playoff game. However, Alvarado came back from his suspension and became unusable for the team.

Alvarado is a classic buy-low candidate. He is basically the best possible version of José Quijada -- the southpaw has the velocity, the competitive energy and stuff to still be an effective pitcher if he departs Philadelphia.

David Robertson

We here at Halo Hangout have been banging the drum over-and-over again for the Angels sign David Robertson, and perhaps this is finally the year they do! Robertson is a savvy veteran who can still post often given his skill-set. His cutter-curveball combination still plays, and plays well.

Robertson signed mid-season with the Phillies, and only appeared in 21 games this season (including the postseason). So, he may be 41-years-old next season but his arm is fresh! Robertson is still an effective middle reliever, and could even be the Angels' set-up guy next season.