The Phillies enter this Winter Meetings at something of a crucial point in their championship window. We’ve all seen that the current core as constructed cannot finish the job as far as getting to the World Series and winning it, so there needs to be some changes to the roster. There has been much discussion about what those changes should be, but with the Meetings beginning today, let’s preview some of the things that might happen.
Will Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto put ink to paper?
This is the
biggest thing. It’s clear that the team is waiting on one or both of these free agents to make up their minds, but we are entering the portion of the calendar where the team is going to have to make some headway in these discussions. The Winter Meetings are notorious for teams getting their biggest order of business done so that they can enter the rest of the offseason with a more coherent plan of how to smooth out the edges of the roster. For the Phillies, re-signing Schwarber and Realmuto has always been one and two atop their offseason wishlist. Waiting too long might make them have to miss out on other free agents in play, but it’s also best to remember: no one has signed yet.
Dylan Cease has somewhat set the market for starting pitching, but the team isn’t really swimming in those waters right now. They’re more focused on upgrading the offense and as of yet, none of the big fish has signed anywhere just yet. There is still time, but the team cannot be caught with their pants down, missing out on a chair during the free agent game of musical chairs. Is this when they get them done?
Is there a trade in the air?
For the most part, most insiders speculate that the trade market is going to be where the action is at this offseason. Teams don’t really want to spend too much money this offseason with the CBS negotiations are in flux, so trading players might be the best way to get what you want.
For the Phillies, the biggest trade chip that has been rumored is Alec Bohm. He represents one of the only ways to upgrade the roster while also retaining other options to take his spot. Trade Brandon Marsh and that might be fine, but what does the team have in the way of outfield depth? With Bohm, were he dealt away, they have Edmundo Sosa and Otto Kemp readily available to step in if needed without too much of a dropoff.
There is also the Nick Castellanos conundrum. They’ve tried like crazy to deal him away with nary a taker yet. At this point, the team would probably just release him to get the roster spot, but maybe there is a team in Florida this week that might still take a chance on him?
Are there free agents in their sights?
So while Schwarber and Realmuto might be the team’s priorities, what if there is someone else in their sights? There probably isn’t that much money to get three big free agents, but what constitutes “big”? Is Harrison Bader a big free agent, or might they be able to get him at something of a reasonable price?
We’ve seen names like Cody Bellinger linked to the Phillies, but we have also seen this team move in silence when it comes to their moves. How often did you hear them rumored to be trading for Jhoan Duran? That could mean there are players they are talking to that we haven’t seen linked to them. Probably need to think on a smaller scale, but there is likely a move coming.
