The Philadelphia Phillies recently completed two extremely successful offseason windows in which they inked contracts with Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner. In addition, last winter saw the high-profile trade of relief pitcher Gregory Soto and the addition of Craig Kimbrel and Taijuan Walker to the pitching staff. The Phillies made their first major move in free agency this offseason when they re-signed Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million deal, essentially securing his future with the team.
It would be reasonable to assume the Phillies are done playing in the high-end free agency market this winter given their current core and the possibility of a Bryce Harper extension. However, owner John Middleton and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski have shown over the past few winters that they are all in for another World Series. Consequently, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com believes that Philadelphia might be hoping for something “big” at the MLB Winter Meetings the following week.
“If Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is to be believed, then the Phils finished their heavy lifting this offseason the moment they signed Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract,” says Zolecki. Therefore, before Spring Training, they might add a reliever or two to take Craig Kimbrel’s place, a free agent. Perhaps they discover a bench bat. Alternatively, perhaps Dombrowski and company investigate whether a trade involving Corbin Burnes or the signing of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a free agent, could cause a ripple effect in the National League.” If it helps the Phillies improve and gives them another chance to win a World Series, then one should never count out Dombrowski and the team making a huge splash.
This could be the winter where the front office throws all of its chips in the middle of the table after two heartbreaking playoff exits in back-to-back seasons.
