While the Phillies do, in all likelihood, have the resources to pay Juan Soto (as well as a gigantic luxury tax bill), a contending team to add him to and superstars to help recruit him, it sounds like the front office has been focused on other things.
In a report from USA Today's Bob Nightengale Monday morning, it was made clear that the sweepstakes for the best available free agent does not, in fact, include the Phillies:
There really are only four teams that are seriously in play for Soto: The Mets, the Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox.
The Los Angeles Dodgers just won a World Series without Soto, and it wasn’t much of an inconvenience to drive through traffic across town, and meet with Soto and agent Scott Boras. The meeting helps perhaps drives the price up for Soto, and even more important, puts a little pressure on outfielder Teoscar Hernandez into re-signing with them.
Oh, and after all of speculation that the Philadelphia Phillies are involved in the Soto sweepstakes?
They haven’t had a single conversation with Boras to express interest in Soto.
The Mets are the clear-cut favorite, executives say, simply because they don’t believe there’s a soul who will outbid owner Steve Cohen, while Yankees have a price in mind that they don’t want to exceed. [USA Today]
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If Nightengale's reporting is to be believed, the Phillies have decided they cannot outbid the Mets and that they do not want to waste everyone's time.
And while acquiring Soto would make the Phillies a lot better both with the bat and in the field, it would have involved a lot of roster jockying, perhaps forcing them to trade Nick Castellanos. It sounds like the Phillies are going to lean in a different direction while trying to keep up with a Mets team that bested them in dominating fashion back in October.
Phillies fans who are disappointed about Soto should feel reassured that the team is still focused on making a big splash. Imagine if the following pair of moves, also reported by Nightengale, were made by Philadelphia this winter:
They have been shopping outfielder Nick Castellanos for nearly two years and now are making third baseman Alec Bohm available.
They have spoken about Bohm and outfield prospect Justin Crawford in extensive trade talks with the Chicago White Sox for starter Garrett Crochet, but the White Sox are concerned with Bohm’s struggles the second half, posting a .681 OPS with just four home runs.
If the Phillies trade Bohm, they are expected to make a strong play for Alex Bregman, whose talent and personality would fit in perfectly with the team, or perhaps sign Willy Adames and move him over to third base. [USA Today]
Adding Crochet — a talented and only 25-year-old hurler who posted a 3.58 ERA last year in his first full stint as a starter, and Bregman, a veteran from all of the Astros postseason runs who is as good at third base defensively as he is at the plate — would definitely improve the Phillies in areas of need.
It's likely the Soto domino will need to fall before any real big ticket activity goes down on the free agent market, and it sounds like Soto isn't too close to making up his mind.
However if and when the Mets do ink him, it will only put more pressure on the Phillies to respond. It sounds like they do have a plan if that happens — if they can convince the White Sox to take Bohm off their hands.
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