With Jake Arrieta signed, what comes next for the 2018 Phillies?
By Koy Zdimal
Trade Deadline
Now here is the trade deadline deal I can see happening. Many people are comparing the Phillies to the 2017 Minnesota Twins. They are young, coming off a very poor year, and might be done with their rebuild. I can see them more like the 2017 Arizona Diamondbacks or 2015 New York Mets. Teams on the outside looking in as the deadline approached until they received a superstar, J.D Martinez for the D-Backs and Yoenis Cespedes for the Mets, who pushed them into October.
The player I think the Phillies could get is Manny Machado. Jon Heyman brought up Andy MacPhail and Matt Klentak’s connection to Arrieta through the Orioles and linked them to Machado:
the arrieta-to-phillies deal isn't surprising in one sense. phils execs andy macphail, matt klentak, scott proefrock & joe jordan were all in baltimore when the orioles drafted arrieta. another player those 4 execs know from draft/development in baltimore: manny machado
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 12, 2018
Machado will be a free agent in 2019. The Orioles listened to deals for him this offseason. The Phillies will need a third baseman with power. Some time in Philadelphia could lure him back for an extension. Everything about the deal makes sense. Why take a draft pick Baltimore when you could get Cesar Hernandez, Dylan Cozens or another established minor/major league player.
Next: Was Jake Arrieta or Cliff Lee a bigger signing?
The Phillies have won the offseason. They strengthened the bullpen, added an on-base-percentage stud, and signed a top 15 pitcher in baseball all for under 200 million. So are the Phillies finally ready to contend? Trust the process.