Philly Sports Network · Nov 6, 2020
Could the Phillies spring a surprise in replacing Didi Gregorius?
The Phillies don’t have much of a hallowed past when it comes to recruiting MLB level players from overseas. They have never had an Ichiro, Yu Darvish, Hideki Matsui, or Hideo Nomo.
The last player the Phillies had on their roster from the Far East was the Korean Baseball Organization standout Hyun Soo Kim. After coming to the Phillies from the Orioles in the Jeremy Hellickson deal, Kim posted a .608 OPS in limited action. At least he had a cool theme song.
In 2020, the Phillies had Didi Gregorius manning shortstop. In no uncertain terms, he did a Hell of a job. He was solid on the defensive side of the ball, but, more importantly, his bat was an important part of the Phillies lineup.