The Phillies are in on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado and might sign both, while thinking two years down the road about Millville, NJ’s, favorite son, Mike Trout, and his free agency.
The Phillies hosted Patrick Corbin for a visit Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park. They are looking at the top of the lefty relief market with Zach Britton and Andrew Miller. They reached out to Arizona about Paul Goldschmidt.
“I can never remember a winter in which one team is the linchpin more than Philly is now,” a veteran GM said. “Maybe the Yankees in some free-spending period, but maybe not even them.”
All roads go through Philly. The Phillies have been targeting this offseason for years to big-game hunt, and their owner, John Middleton, recently told USA Today: “We’re going into this expecting to spend money. And maybe even be a little bit stupid about it.’’
The implications and ripple effects will be huge. Think of these two, for example:
1. If the Phillies sign Harper or Machado, but not both (probably the most likely outcome) what becomes of the other? Are there clearly two teams willing to do $350 million-ish deals this offseason, when it seems as if the Cubs and Dodgers are not in that mindset?
Maybe. There are executives who believe the Nationals could still pivot and retain Harper because that is ownership’s desire. The Cardinals can take on a huge deal. The White Sox have indicated a willingness to make a substantial move.
The Yankees? Perhaps they would do the huge pact with Machado. But I think it is possible the Yanks are waiting to see how this plays out with the Phillies. If the Phils, say, sign Harper to the mega-deal, what is Machado’s market? Say it is just the rebuilding White Sox offering the 10-year mega-deal? Could the Yanks counter with, say, a five-year proposal at a record amount per year with opt-outs after two or three seasons as an alternative to join a contender in his preferred landing spot?Such is the power of the Phillies right now as publicly the only team willing to go to the top of the market.
2. From the days of George Steinbrenner and even after this death, when the Yankees badly wanted a free agent, they would essentially tell his camp, go find out your market and come back to us. At that point, the Yanks would often top the best offer and get the guy.
The Yanks want Corbin, who grew up a fan of the Steinbrenner Yankees in upstate New York. At the core of their offseason plans is not Machado, but adding two high-end starters. They already have traded for James Paxton and I sense Corbin is their favorite from the free-agent bin — a Jimmy Key 2.0 type, an athletic lefty with even better stuff than Key.But in this forum, it is the Phillies who could out-Boss the Yankees by saying they will top the best offer. What is the Yanks’ breaking point? Corbin had brilliant timing with a fifth-place NL Cy Young season in his walk year and is just 29. The Yanks probably wanted to keep his deal to four or five years, but the likelihood is it will at least match the deal Yu Darvish got last offseason — six years, $126 million. And what if the Phils are willing to go further?
Because that is who the Phils are this offseason. The team that is going to be willing to be in more markets and go further. They seem destined to get — at minimum — a top position player, a top starter and a top reliever. They are the linchpin of this major league offseason.