Phillies window finally opening in the NL East
Phillies fans shouldn’t have to wait long to see their team contending
Baseball’s offseason has already thrown fans a couple of curveballs, but fastballs are coming to the free agent market. Phillies fans have seen the two biggest pieces of the 2017 offseason make their decisions with Shohei Ohtani going to Los Angeles and Giancarlo Stanton going to New York.
Philadelphia was never truly a destination for either of those two players, but their choices have opened up an opportunity for a young Phillies team to compete in the next couple of years with their young core.
Let’s look at the rest of the National League East for a moment and take stock in where they stand:
Washington’s future hangs on the status of superstar Bryce Harper and his impending free agency. Their ace Max Scherzer is 33-years-old and is guaranteed $108 million over three years.
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta recently lost a slew of major prospects after an investigation found they improperly handled their international signings.
Miami is gearing up for a top-down rebuild centered around trading Giancarlo Stanton to New York. New owner Derek Jeter hell-bent on clearing salary this offseason, which means even more talent will depart South Beach. Dee Gordon was a major piece for that team, and he won’t be the first to leave.
Every bit of that plays into the Phillies favor going into 2018 and beyond. Granted a lot will happen after 2018 when virtually every all-star becomes a free agent. Miami could be out of their enormous debt, Washington could re-sign Harper, and Atlanta could have money to spend as well.
Philadelphia continues to trust the process and look forward with this team knowing what awaits them in two years. They can spend $200 million in one offseason if they wanted because their only guaranteed money at this moment is Odubel Herrera’s minuscule contract.
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Money talks, and if Harper, Machado, Kershaw, or any of the elite free agents sees the blank check, and opportunity to join other stars, and the young core of Crawford, Nola, Alfaro, Hoskins it’s hard to not see Philadelphia as a destination.