Philly Front Office

[UPDATE: The Phillies traded Matt Strahm and his $7.5m salary for Jonathan Bowlan whom makes the league minimum]

This morning, I wrote way too many words breaking down the Phillies remaining offseason needs. Then they signed Brad Keller and I realized we really just have 1 need. A bat. Any bat will do, but this lineup needs a cleanup hitter. How in the hell are we going to get one?

The Budget

With the Keller signing, the team is at around $309m, $5m past the final tax threshold and at the limit of John Middleton’s desired spending. Unfortunately, we still need to sign JT Realmuto who will probably cost around $14m. The team needs some cash, and the only way to do it is with trades. If I’m the Phillies, I am looking to move Nick Castellanos, Taijuan Walker, Alec Bohm, and either Jose Alvarado or Matt Strahm. Why? To save cash. Here is the breakdown:

• Nick Castellanos – efforts to trade Nick and his $20m 2026 salary have been described as “begging.” That’s not good. Literally anything we can get for him would be good for the budget. I am holding out hope that we only have to eat $15m of his deal either in a trade or buyout. That $5m could be a new reliever.
• Taijuan Walker – Last offseason we were talking about cutting Taijuan and eating the $36m remaining on his contract. Then a funny thing happened, he was pretty good. Now he will be expected to make starts again this season in April and then when anyone gets hurt. However, if the Phillies sign Tatsuya Imai, that changes the equation. Now, all of a sudden we have pitching to spare. Would someone just straight take Walker’s $18m contract? Probably not, but at $10m they probably would. That’s not bad for a 4th/5th starter.
• Alec Bohm – I am not a fan of Alec Bohm. He hit .287 last year but with only 32 extra base hits and a disinclination to take pitches let alone walk. He is also going to make $10m this season. If there is any position to upgrade on the field it is his. I think he has trade value, but I wouldn’t be against releasing him either considering his contract is not guaranteed.
• Alvarado/Strahm – The addition of Keller probably makes one of these guys that much more expendable due to their left handedness and $7.5m+ salaries. Neither had ideal seasons last year but will still have value in a league always in need of lefties.

Making these realistic deals would free up around $32.5m in cash. Damn!

The Market

Let’s look at the areas of possible improvement. The Phillies have not yet signed JT Realmuto. What started as an inevitability seems to leak more and more positivity as the days go by. There are not many catching options out there though. Assuming Dave was telling the truth about the outfield being set, that really only leaves 2nd and 3rd base as possible upgrades. If that’s so, remember that Bohm has a $10m non-guaranteed arbitration hold in our budget while Bryson Stott is at 5.5m.

• Ketel Marte – Arizona is peddling the 2nd baseman like no tomorrow. He is a 32 and has been playing at an MVP level for years. His contract is cheap too after a mid-life extension that sees him get $103m over the next 6 years. I say cheap, but I mean low tax value. Because of his age, this one could go south decently quick. Still, his .900 OPS as a switch hitter would sure look nice in the middle of this lineup. The problem is that he will cost Andrew Painter.
• Alex Bregman – Bregman probably wants around $35m per year on a long-term deal. While that saves trading Painter, it would be adding just an .800 OPS guy who is already 32. It’s a ton of money for not the improvement people think he is. He would certainly upgrade the 3rd base defense though.
• Bo Bichette – Bichette will be 28 and can probably play 2nd or 3rd for the Phillies despite being a shortstop by trade. At such a young age for free agency, he and his .300ish lifetime batting average are probably looking for a boat. Something in the Trea Turner range from a few years ago. Would the Phillies float another $300m contract? Probably not. The 8/$208m that was predicted by MLBTradeRumors would be much more palatable. Getting Bichette now would allow the team to move on from Bohm this offseason then Stott next year when Aiden Miller is more ready for the majors. I’m not going to lie, a Turner-Schwarber-Harper-Bichette first 4 would be…[melts]
• Shea Langeliers – Shea was traded from Atlanta to the A’s in the Matt Olson deal and finally broke out two years ago, then leveled up again last year with 32 doubles and 31 HRs. He is 28 and still has 3 years of control left. The problem is that not-Oakland will hold him for an absolute ransom. He will definitely cost Painter, but would finally give the Phillies their long-needed catcher of the future and a total bargain salary. The righty would slot into the cleanup spot here without blinking.
• Kazuma Okamoto – The Phillies seem focused on Imai right now, but Okamoto would add a very professional hitter to the lineup and he can play 3rd base. His predicted $20m contract would also not be prohibitive especially with Bohm no longer being around.

With either a Marte or Langeliers move, I would really like to see the Phillies sign Tatsuya Imai to make up for the loss of Painter.

Overview

Everyone has been pretty upset with the Adolis Garcia contract. I get it. If he was our only move, it would be a pretty unsatisfying cap to the offseason. However, if he is hitting later in the lineup as some extra pop, that’s not so bad. How would we feel about this lineup:

1. Trea Turner
2. Kyle Schwarber
3. Bryce Harper
4. Bo Bichette/Shea Langeliers/Ketel Marte
5. Brandon Marsh
6. Adolis Garcia
7. Bryson Stott/Alec Bohm/JT Realmuto (any two)
8. Bryson Stott/Alec Bohm/JT Realmuto (any two)
9. Justin Crawford

Basically, everyone moves down a spot into their proper place in the lineup if we get a cleanup hitter. That lineup would do some DAMAGE. Just the one extra bat moves this team into the favorites tier with the Dodgers for the World Series considering our rotation and bullpen.