Baseball’s offseason, just like its regular season, is a marathon not a sprint. But there are some checkpoints along the way that spur action, and one such checkpoint is the Winter Meetings. It’s usually
the first time of the offseason when action really picks up, and this year has been no different.
With the meetings officially coming to a close yesterday, it’s time to reassess where the Phillies and the league as a whole sit as we head towards the end of the year. Obviously, the biggest thing from a Phillies standpoint is that they officially brought Kyle Schwarber back into the fold with a five year, $155M deal. They also extended the contract of manager Rob Thomson through 2027, made a minor trade, and made a few Rule 5 selections.
As for the Phillies’ other big question marks, J.T. Realmuto still remains unsigned, and the outfield is still undecided. Nick Castellanos still remains on the roster and Harrison Bader also remains unsigned. Talk of a trade involving Matt Strahm started to pick up, but nothing has come to fruition yet.
There have also been some major moves that have taken place outside of the realm of Philadelphia. Most notably, the Mets lost both Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso in free agency, with the former accepting a three year, $69M deal from the Dodgers and the later taking a five year, $155M deal from the Orioles. The Braves splurged for the first time in a long time in free agency, adding former Padres closer and Bedlam at the Bank victim Robert Suarez on a three year, $45M deal. There were some smaller moves too, such as the Pirates losing out on Schwarber and coming away with Gregory Soto, but most of the top free agents still remain on the board. That includes the trio of Japanese stars in Munetaka Murakami, Tatsuya Imai, and Kazuma Okamoto who have to sign before the end of their various posting windows in the coming weeks.
Nothing major has materialized on the trade market just yet outside of rumblings about the Diamondbacks potentially moving Ketel Marte. Trades are usually even slower to develop than free agency as teams who miss out on their top targets look to pivot to other avenues. More free agents will have to find homes before the trade market really begins to churn to life.
So, with this brief week of activity over and the offseason on the verge of returning to a dead zone, how are we feeling after the Winter Meetings?
