The Phillies want to be a little bit stupid in free agency, and we took that to heart
Phillies owner John Middleton threw out a comment to USA Today Sports that could potentially haunt the franchise by saying the team could “be a little bit stupid” when it comes to spending money this offseason.
It’s no secret that’s what the organization plans to do, and the man who Forbes listed as the 241st richest person in the world plans to put that money to use.
In the FanSided MLB offseason simulation, we had a couple of days to go against our sister sites in free agent bidding wars, and oh did we bid.
In what was essentially throwing monopoly money around a virtual game table we secured four free agents, some big and some small, to deals worth a combined $662 million!
Here’s how our free agency spending spree was splurged:
Bryce Harper – 12 years, $485 million
The biggest bucks in the offseason simulation went to none other than Bryce Harper. The St. Louis Cardinals opened the bidding up at 10 years $350 million and after a couple of other teams placed bids we made our opening bid of 12 years $425 million.
The Nationals and White Sox outbid us by a substantial margin, but we came back with a late bid that no one could outmatch. Yes, we got a little bit stupid spending that kind of money, but it’s for a generational player who finally fills a corner outfield spot, a place the Phillies have struggled to plug.
Patrick Corbin – 5 years, $150 million
After the Yankees made the initial bid of five years $100 million we came in with a $25 million increase. That number was quickly outmatched by the White Sox, but we came back with a number we felt comfortable with to give the Phillies a legitimate top-three for their rotation.
Corbin is the top starting pitcher on the free agent market coming off a season with a 3.15 ERA. He finished fifth in the Cy Young face after striking out 248 batters in 200 innings, and when healthy he can be among the best pitchers in baseball.
While we weren’t able to mention options and opt-outs in our deals, any deal for Harper and Corbin will likely have all kinds of twists and turns to benefit both the team and player. Expect their real life deals to have plently of them.