Former Phillies, Mets and Giants outfielder Aaron Altherr, who has spent the past two seasons playing in the Korea Baseball Organization, is now a free agent and is eyeing a potential MLB comeback after a strong run overseas, MLBTR has learned. A jump to Japan’s NPB is also a possibility.
Set to turn 31 in January, Altherr spent the 2020-21 seasons with the NC Dinos as their primary center fielder, helping the club to a Korean Series championship and posting consecutive 30-homer/20-steal seasons. In a combined 1,111 plate appearances, Altherr slashed .275/.356/.528 (130 wRC+) with 63 home runs, 39 doubles, nine triples and 42 steals (in 48 attempts). Strikeouts have been an issue (27.4%), though he’s also drawn a respectable number of free passes (9.3% overall, including 10.1% in 2021).
A ninth-round pick by the Phillies back in 2009, Altherr briefly reached the big leagues in 2014, got his first extended look a year later in 2015, and at that point seemed like a potential long-term answer in the outfield. He posted a .241/.338/.489 batting line through 161 plate appearances as a rookie (124 wRC+), squarely putting himself into the team’s outfield mix. However, 2016 was largely a lost season. Altherr had wrist surgery that April, and while he made it back to the field late in the summer, his .202/.304/.293 slash showed that he clearly wasn’t at full strength.
In 2017, Altherr bounced back with a .272/.340/.516 batting line through what’s still a career-high (in MLB) 412 plate appearances. He swatted 19 home runs for the Phils that season while seeing time at all three outfield spots.
With the Phillies’ Carlos Santana signing pushing Rhys Hoskins into left field in 2018 and Odubel Herrera then entrenched in center field, Altherr found himself jostling with Nick Williams (who’d had a solid 2017 season himself) for playing time in right field. Altherr started the season in a slump and never really recovered, batting just .181/.295/.333 in 285 plate appearances.
Philadelphia’s subsequent signings of Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper completely eroded the path to playing time for Altherr in 2019. He was designated for assignment in early May, bouncing quickly from the Phillies, to the Giants (who gave him one plate appearance), to the Mets via waivers. Altherr struggled in 35 plate appearances with the Mets before being outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse, where he hit well but spent a notable chunk of time on the injured list.
The prospect of a guaranteed seven-figure salary lured Altherr to the Dinos, and he’s taken home more than $2.3MM during his time in South Korea. He’ll likely have interest from the Dinos and other KBO clubs in free agency, but opportunities in Japan and certainly back in the Majors could be more lucrative.
Overall, Altherr has a .219/.308/.402 batting line in 1,156 Major League plate appearances, but his .275/.356/.528 slash in the KBO at least offers the promise that he could do more with a larger opportunity than he received during his stop-and-start Phillies tenure. We’ve seen a handful of former big league bats make successful returns after starring in South Korea, including Eric Thames and Darin Ruf.
Altherr is two years younger than Ruf was at the time of his return, and given that he’s a viable center field option in an offseason where there are few available options at the position (particularly now that Starling Marte has signed), Altherr could be viewed as an interesting roll of the dice for a team seeking relatively affordable outfield help. The looming lockout surely complicates matters — teams in Japan and South Korea likely don’t care to wait on free-agent decisions while MLB is under a transaction freeze — but Altherr ought to at least have a few days to gauge interest before that wrench is thrown into the market.
The Baseball Fan
AAA depth
The Mets "Missed WAR"
Unlike Suzuki I think this guy’s numbers will not transfer back to the US. AAA depth, sure. 4th outfielder, maybe. Do you really want your team paying over a million dollars for that? He should stay in Asia. He will make more money and get more playing time.
I’m assuming the 130 wRC+ compares him to players in his league. That’s where wRC+ becomes useless. Who cares how his bat compares to guys who don’t even play in the Americas? All it means is he’s 30% better at the plate than a bunch of guys who probably couldn’t make the cut over here anyway.
I love the existence of stats like wRC+ and OPS+ but some people weigh it far too heavily. In a situation where you are talking about a guy who isn’t even compared to major or minor league players it shouldn’t even matter.
It also shouldn’t matter if a player is too injured to make enough plate appearances to make a full season impact. It’s downright sad how much some people believe in that stat.
I still have guys telling me how Trout was great in 2021 because of his wRC+. No. He wasn’t. He was too injured to make a serious impact. If you can’t make an impact you aren’t great. Injuries aren’t an excuse. They are a problem. I’m not talking about what Trout will do in the future. People can make their own guesses on that. I’m talking about 2021. Trout’s production in 2021 is nothing but terrible. He didn’t play enough to count. Nothing else matters. I believe he can be a great player again next season but winning games requires production. In 2021 Trout just didn’t do it. That’s all that matters. He wasn’t a good player. He may have been good when he took the field but who cares? He didn’t take the field enough for it to matter so Trout sucked in 2021.
VonPurpleHayes
Oh my god. I cannot believe Altherr is a viable CF for the 2023 Phillies. This is profoundly sad.
chiefnocahoma1
Quality CFers seem to be less common rn for some reason.
VonPurpleHayes
Phillies haven’t had a good CF since Victorino.
Pax vobiscum
That guy had a beautiful swing. I watched him in BP in the 2015 season and thought for sure the Phillies had finally scored some homegrown talent. DD won’t consider him because he can’t take any chances this year but I hope that Altherr sticks somewhere.
Datashark
The historic at bat he had with the Giants, yet will be forever known as a former Giants player,
marshmallowman
see Ghostbusters: Afterlife on the biggest screen you can. then see it again
MVPNacho
Couldn’t agree more
JayKay
If you love nostalgia, sure.
TalkingBaseball
He’s an ex-Mets player…it only makes since for him to go to the Mariners and win comelback player of the year.
Metsfan9
He was literally the worst Mets player I’ve ever watched (and that’s saying something) but I still wish him luck. The KBO does a good job of reviving people’s careers and I hope it does the same for him
whyhayzee
I hope the number four is not forbidden.
whyhayzee
Probably wind up on the same team as Robby the Ray-bot.
bucketbrew35
I’ve always liked Aaron. He is also a lot better than people give him credit for. I really hope he finds future success in the big leagues.
Cosmo2
He’s been terrible in his recent ML stints. Nothing underrated about him.
VonPurpleHayes
Terrible offensively for sure.
Orioles Fan
Hope the Orioles will give him an opportunity. Always liked Aaron.
Monkey’s Uncle
He could be a viable Altherr-native for some teams.
Tacoshells
Wow! That is some great success the past two years. He could be a cheap option for the As. Trade him at the deadline. Nice pick up
Rsox
Altherr should do what the great Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes did: realize he can’t hit major league pitching but can rake off of overseas pitching and stay there and be a star rather than a AAAA player here
Michael Chaney
The most surprising part of this is that Darin Ruf is 35. I know he’s coming off a really good year, but it still feels like he’s 27 or 28 and we’re wondering if he’s a major leaguer or a AAAA guy.
Bart Harley Jarvis
Farhan Zaidi will sign him to the Giants, and then Gabe Kapler will coach him to greatness. Oh um, never mind.
Dannyocean
Considering what the Phillies trotted to the plate (sans Harper) his stats aren’t bad.