The rest of the offseason
This has already been a busy offseason for the Phillies (more on that later) but things haven’t stopped with the calendar turning. There could still be significant additions before spring training begins in a month and a half.
The two biggest targets on the market, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, remain unsigned. Machado’s signing should come in the near future as he said it would come in the new year. Industry speculation is that Harper will wait for Machado to sign to set the baseline for his new contract.
The odds remain good that the Phillies wind up landing one of the two. They were one of the teams Machado visited during his free agency tour as he spent a long time meeting with club officials. Even if Machado winds up signing somewhere else, that would put more pressure on the front office to reel in Harper.
Beyond these two, the team remains in the market to bring in other significant free agents. The team has interest in Dallas Keuchel but may have to wait for him to lower his asking price. There is a feeling in the industry that Craig Kimbrel will come to Philadelphia. They remain in the discussion in trade rumors about Corey Kluber, Mike Minor, and Robbie Ray.
With about six weeks left before spring training begins, there are still plenty of avenues the team could explore to improve their roster. They have been connected to just about every big target out there and have a decent shot at landing one or two more before things are said and done.