Even with no other moves, offseason has been stellar
PHILADELPHIA >> John Middleton charged into the offseason promising to be stupid, to throw his $3.6 billion around like ticker-tape at a downtown parade, to restore the Phillies to World Series contention or, as he’d said, to die trying.
Matt Klentak had another idea. In that one, there was no room for stupid. In his plan, he’d just flip J.P. Crawford, Jorge Alfaro and Carlos Santana, three personifications of a 2018 season gone horribly wrong at the end, and come away with Andrew McCutchen, Jean Segura and, of course, the best young catcher in baseball.
Really: The Phillies Thursday rolled the defensively inept and offensively inconsistent Alfaro to Miami for J.T. Realmuto, a 27-year-old AllStar with power who’d just led all catchers in baseball in total bases. And even if he had to squeeze prized pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez into the deal, Klentak’s latest stunt was enough to clear him of any more responsibility to make the Phillies better before Opening Day.
“We knew if we were going to access J.T. that we were going to have to give up some talent in return,” Klentak said. “We do like Jorge a lot. We think he has a bright career ahead of him. We think he’s a great kid and a hard worker and it’s tough to see him go. But this is about us getting better and acquiring the best catcher in baseball. And I’m really excited about that.”
Seldom-used baseball offseason rule: Acquiring the best catcher in the game, at age 27, is a good thing, no matter how many often-injured, low-level minor-league arms have to be included in the deal. But that’s the way it has gone for the Phillies since October. They improved. They improved some more. And by Thursday, they were so improved that the undertow of momentum yet could drag Middleton’s wallet into play.
Middleton’s idea, a necessary one given the atmosphere in the sport
On the schedule
and the Phillies’ status in baseball’s No. 1 monopoly market, was to throw, his word, “stupid” money at free agents. That meant developing Hall of Famers Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, both 26. Yet for some reason, whatever rain he made at a meeting with Harper in Vegas and another with Machado on Pattison Ave. has yet to coax either to sign with the Phillies.
But what Klentak has done, and it has been glorious, may help. For while Harper and Machado were taking their time deciding where to sign, the Phillies kept making themselves better, and better, and better … to the point where it almost makes Harper and Machado appear less than wise not to join the party.
“It crossed our mind,” Klentak said.
He’s not alone.
In any other offseason, what he has done already would have been sufficient. First, he dumped Crawford, a failing, fading prospect, to Seattle, along with overpaid Santana for Segura, the All-Star shortstop who hit .304 last season. That opened first base for Rhys Hoskins, who was neighborly enough to try left field, even if he was so incapable at the task that it was beginning to damage his professional reputation. To fill in one of the outfield spots, Klentak spent aggressively, though not stupidly, for McCutchen, a former MVP who should experience a career bounce hitting 81 times a year in Citizens Bank Park. Also, he added reliable and versatile reliever David Robertson in free agency, that after adding helpful bullpen piece James Pazos in the Segura trade.
Then, there was Realmuto, who hit 21 home runs last season, including three against the Phillies within 10 days. Suddenly, the Phillies had substantially improved in four of the eight positions. And they improved enough that should Machado decide to make it five, or should Harper decide to make it six, they will have had an offseason that their fans will reference for decades.
“Rhys Hoskins played with J.T. Realmuto in that Japan tour this past fall and talked about what an incredible teammate he is, and how impactful he’d be on our club if we could ever acquire him,” Klentak said. “Anybody that’s ever been around J.T. as a teammate or opponent would feel similarly. So I think this is another acquisition for our club this offseason that demonstrates our commitment to winning and I would hope that demonstration would be appealing to free agents.”
In some ways, Middleton’s boasts were not helpful to Klentak. For had the acting owner not so openly recruited Brychado, Klentak could have walked into the clubhouse in Clearwater and deserved a chorus of, “For he’s a Jolly, Good Fellow.” Had the Phillies dangled Machado and Harper and delivered Segura and McCutchen, their fans could have snarled about being misled. But Segura, McCutchen, Robertson and Realmuto, a developing superstar, are sufficient to declare the offseason legendary.
“He’s a good player even playing half his games in Miami,” Klentak said. “And if that’s what he does in our uniform, that’s still the best catcher in baseball. But I’d be lying if I told you we didn’t think there was some chance that by playing half the games in Citizens Bank Park wouldn’t make him better. I think there’s’ a pretty good chance our park would be helpful to him.”
The lineup around him will help, too. And it will help more if Middleton does land either Machado or Harper, which, whispers continue to indicate, still has a high probability.
The nature of top-level free agency in 2019 is that the max-contract players wait, even if that wait drags into spring training. The Phillies are deep enough into the Machado and Harper races to ride it out. But if Klentak were to pull back the offers and sign another pitcher (lefty Gio Gonzalez?), he would have not one reason to apologize.
For the Phillies, it has been one remarkable offseason. To suggest otherwise would just be stupid.