Phillies rumor: Team “very aggressive” on free agent Zach Britton
The latest Phillies rumor has them pushing to add one of the best free agent relievers available
Another Phillies rumor has crossed the Twitter-sphere just hours after they agreed to a three-year deal with Andrew McCutchen.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and MLB Network, the Phillies are “very aggressive” on free agent reliever Zach Britton.
Rosenthal notes that other teams are still in the mix for the 30-year-old lefty, but it sounds like the Phillies are pulling ahead early in the winter meetings.
Britton has been linked to the Phillies for years, mainly because of his familiarity with several members of the front office. Andy MacPhail and Matt Klentak crossed paths with Britton in Baltimore, and the Phillies attempted to acquire Britton at the trade deadline last year.
Adding Britton to the bullpen would give Philadelphia one of the best closers in baseball and a potential 1-2 punch with Seranthony Dominguez late in games.
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Coming off an achillies injury Britton was slow coming out of the gate last year, but after a trade to the Yankees he picked up where he left off pre-injury.
In 25 games for the Yankees Britton had a 2.88 ERA and three saves as a set-up man ahead of Aroldis Chapman.
Britton’s price tag is expected to be large, but he’d be the first of several big-ticket relievers to sign a free agent deal.
Philadelphia already has Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter signed to large free agent contracts through this season. They’ve reportedly shopped both despite their success late last season.