Phillies offseason sim: Buildings towards a championship
The Phillies will once again look to build on a disappointing season and look to contend for a championship next year.
After an offseason of spending stupid money the Phillies and their fans expected nothing less than a playoff berth. Another late season collapse led to the dismissal of manager Gabe Kapler and the hiring of Joe Girardi to run the bench going forward.
Despite all of the moves made last season the Phillies still have a ton of holes to fill if they are to contend for a playoff spot, let alone a championship, in 2020.
In the FanSided MLB offseason simulation the Phillies followed John Middleton’s mantra and continued to spend stupid money and remain aggressive on both the trade and free agent markets.
Here is a breakdown of all of the moves we made as the Phillies representatives.
Extend J.T. Realmuto
Is there any more that needs to be said about catcher J.T. Realmuto to highlight how great he was last season? He became the first catcher in Phillies history to win the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in the same season and he received MVP votes in his first year with Philadelphia.
In the final year of arbitration, Realmuto is expected to make more than $10 million if the Phillies can’t come to an agreement on an extension. After giving up top prospect Sixto Sanchez to acquire Realmuto last offseason and seeing his results, the Phillies should be willing to offer one of the largest contracts given to a catcher.
After negotiating with the FanSided representatives who played Realmuto’s agent, we agreed upon a five year extension worth $120 million. It’s the second biggest contract given to a catcher (Posey received 5/$159M) and the largest AAV for a catcher, $4 million more than Yadier Molina.
Realmuto is worth every penny the Phillies can offer him, and with the National League potentially adding a designated hitter down the road, Realmuto’s legs could be saved to lengthen his impact in Philadelphia.
Five trades that will reshape the Phillies
While playing Matt Klentak in this simulation we made five trades involving several members of the Phillies and their minor league clubs.
Here’s a breakdown of the trades we made:
The Cesar Hernandez trade came down at the last minute after discussions with several teams. Given the large one-year deal he’s expected to receive through arbitration and the fact he’s a rental player, the price had to drop significantly. Cleveland ships a mid-level pitching prospect in Sam Hentges who will likely start in Double-A and give the Phillies some southpaw starter depth in the minor leagues.
The Bryan Shaw contract wasn’t a great one for Colorado, so the Phillies took on the former Indians star, as well as some money, for Single-A prospect Taylor Lehman. Shaw is a low-risk, high-reward veteran option for the bullpen with controllability, something the Phillies don’t have right now.
Because of the moves made in this simulation the Phillies had to dump some contracts. San Diego called about Jake Arrieta and we were glad to send him out west along with former first round pick Cornelius Randolph for two 19-year-old prospects.
Speaking of dumping a player, the Phillies moved Maikel Franco to Detroit instead of non-tendering him, adding Triple-A outfielder Jake Robson, the Tigers 26th overall prospect. Robson adds speed and defense to the 40-man roster and potentially replaces Roman Quinn if he can’t stay healthy.
Franco has been a massive disappointment, and how he has time to continue developing in Detroit with fewer eyes on him.
Our blockbuster trade of the offseason filled the need in center field in the form of Gold Glove outfielder Starling Marte. Also coming over in the deal is closer Kela Keone, who had a 2.12 ERA last season and adds more depth around Hector Neris.
Philadelphia did have to give up Adam Haseley, Adonis Medina, and Deivy Grullon, but the time to win is now. Haseley could be the starting center fielder for Philadelphia next year, but Medina and Grullon are each a year away from potentially making any kind of big league impact. Grullon made a short appearance last September, but didn’t do much in nine games.
Free agent moves galore
In this simulation we made six free agent signings, three big and three small.
We’ll address the three small moves first, which came before the team signed Josh Harrison to a minor league deal to compete for a bench spot. We decided to bring back Brad Miller, who hit 12 home runs in 66 plate appearances for the Phillies. He also played across the diamond with adequate defense. His bamboo energy was also very helpful.
More from Phillies News
- What can Philadelphia Phillies expect from Bryson Stott in 2023?
- 3 Reasons to get excited for Phillies’ Craig Kimbrel signing
- Phillies-Mets owners’ rivalry grows after shocking Carlos Correa deal
- Could Rich Hill become ‘Jamie Moyer 2.0’ in Phillies rotation?
- Does Bailey Falter have a future in Phillies’ rotation?
Capping out our bench moves was backup catcher Matt Wieters on a one year deal to battle Andrew Knapp for either the backup catcher job or the 26th roster spot. Wieters is a switch-hitter who hit 11 home runs for St. Louis last year, and he’d be a valuable veteran in the clubhouse.
Phillies President Andy MacPhail held the same position in Baltimore when Wieters first came up.
In a weak bullpen market, the only deal the Phillies were able to pull off in free agency was re-signing Jared Hughes to a cheap “prove it” deal. From August 25 through the end of the season Hughes had a 2.41 ERA and allowed only five runs, four of which were solo home runs. He’s not the worst option out there, and a cheap deal is worth it to see if Hughes can show what he did last summer.
Next. Philadelphia Phillies: 50 greatest players of all-time. dark
Now to the big moves we made to bulk up the roster.
Mike Moustakas – 3 yrs, $51M
First, we signed Mike Moustakas to a three-year deal worth $51 million, a bit of an overpay, but he fills a big hole at third base. Originally we offered a two-year deal hoping that Alec Bohm would be ready for 2021 and Moustakas could be traded next offseason, but the White Sox and Indians pushed the deal to three-years.
This deal puts Moustakas ahead of the Zach Cosart deal and just behind Justin Turner’s, and would give him the seventh-highest AAV for a third baseman.
As mentioned earlier with Realmuto, the National League could institute the DH soon. If that happens, the Phillies could move either Moustakas or Rhys Hoskins to the DH role to make room for Bohm.
Cole Hamels – 2 yrs, $36M
The Phillies and Cole Hamels are reunited on a two-year deal that finally brings back one of the great pitchers in franchise history and adds a lefty to the starting rotation.
Hamels and the Phillies have mutual interest in a reunion and the timing of the opportunity is perfect for both sides. Philadelphia needs a veteran pitcher who can fill out the middle of the rotation and provide guidance for some of the younger arms, just as Roy Halladay did for Hamels.
As many as 14 teams may vie for Hamels this offseason, but we faced no fight in the offseason simulation.
Gerrit Cole – 8 yrs $289M
Finally, the big move that capped off the offseason simulation and made Phillies fans very happy. After fighting off the Braves and Yankees, the Phillies gave Gerrit Cole the largest contract in baseball history in terms of total dollars and average annual value.
Philadelphia needs an ace to pair with Aaron Nola atop their rotation, and few pitchers were better than Cole last year. He’s had two consecutive seasons with a top-five Cy Young finish and since going to the Astros he’s really found another level of success. He led baseball with 326 strikeouts and a 2.50 ERA, dominating American League opponents.
dark. Next. Phillies 2020 Opening Day roster early predictions
By the end of the simulation we were pushing way over the luxury tax, leading to the Arrieta trade to open up room. Realistically, Philadelphia is unlikely to add three major free agents as well as trade for multiple high-priced players, but in this simulation we were able to get it done and save some money along the way.
Look for them to potentially add a third baseman, such as Moustakas, and two free agent pitchers, but not a combination of Hamels and Cole.