Phils may not be ‘stupid’ after all
LAS VEGAS — Phillies officials have tried hard behind the scenes to douse the impact of owner John Middleton’s recent statement in which he claimed the team might “be a little bit stupid” about how much money it spends this offseason.
It is well known within the game that the rebuilding Phillies have been targeting this offseason and Middleton has wanted to be aggressive. But team officials said there was more to his statement, that the owner insisted the club could have a strong offseason without signing Bryce Harper or Manny Machado and they view upcoming offseasons with Nolan Arenado next year and Francisco Lindor and Mike Trout (who grew up a Phillies fan) vital, too. Lindor and Trout can become free agents after the 2020 season.
These officials say general manager Matt Klentak has ownership’s support to do what he feels is prudent, with no pressure to overpay. Nevertheless, there is a strong sentiment within the game that enough promises have been made that it will be difficult to satisfy fans if they don’t have a huge offseason that includes Machado or Harper. They are thought to favor Machado.
On Tuesday they made the biggest deal with a position player yet this offseason, agreeing with Andrew McCutchen to a three-year, $50 million pact. Philadelphia was debating between McCutchen and Michael Brantley, whose lefty bat actually fit the roster better. But durability was the decisive issue and no player has appeared in more games (1,393) since 2010 than McCutchen.
The Blue Jays released Troy Tulowitzki with two years at $38 million left on his contract. Tulowitzki has not played in the majors since July 2017 as he has struggled to return from surgery to remove spurs from both heels.
To eat that much money, Toronto had to feel it could not build Tulowitzki back up to trade at a future date and save even a small part of the $38 million. Just as important, Tulowitzki had insisted he is a shortstop despite missing so much time and a decline in his play while GM Ross Atkins had said he would have to earn playing time. The potential for tension and disruption was there as Toronto rebuilds and breaks in a rookie manager, Charlie Montoyo.
Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has tried hard to retain the core of a champion, which is one reason Nathan Eovaldi was retained for four years at $68 million.
But he also has recognized that the team had by far the largest payroll last year and is projected to exceed the top thresholds for the luxury tax again. Thus, the Red Sox have let teams know that Rick Porcello (owed $21 million in the final year of his pact) is available and they would talk about Jackie Bradley Jr. (due about $9 million and free after the 2020 season) as a way to both restrain payroll, but also redirect dollars to bulk up the bullpen.