Could the Phillies make another splash in free agency next offseason?
After a pretty eventful 2020 offseason which saw the likes of the Phillies signing Zack Wheeler and superstars such as Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, etc. all switch teams due to monster contracts, some eyes have already begun to point towards the next free agency period.
With the MLB season’s status still up in the air due to current events, the possibility that the league just jumps straight to the 2021 campaign is a possibility.
With a new season, would come a new offseason. An offseason absolutely stacked with marquee free agents yet again.
While the Phillies were busy this past year, adding notable players like Wheeler and Didi Gregorius, it’s clear there’s still a lot of work to be done in building a championship-caliber roster around Bryce Harper. While money may seem tight in Philly at the moment, $59 million dollars will be freed up at the year’s conclusion with Jake Arrieta, David Roberston, Jay Bruce, and Gregorius all coming off the books.
This puts the team in prime position to spend the big bucks yet again.
#5. Robbie Ray, SP
A name who has repeatedly come up in trade discussions for the Phillies, southpaw Robbie Ray will be hitting the open market as a free agent for the first time in his career.
For the majority of his six year career in the majors, Ray has been underwhelmingly average when it comes to some of the simpler baseball metrics. He posts a career ERA of 4.11, a WHIP of 1.351, and a win-loss percentage of just 50.5%.
However, Ray has long been a name on the radar of MLB scouts due to his absurdly high strikeout rate, and the flashes of potential that he put on display in 2017. Over the last three seasons, Ray has posted a K/9 of 12.0 or higher, a number that ranks him towards the top of the league in this regard pretty regularly.
For reference, the highest K/9 rate that Aaron Nola has posted in his career is just 10.2.
Like previously mentioned, Ray put it all together in 2017, making his only career All-Star game while going 15-5 with a 2.89 ERA. The Phillies shouldn’t necessarily be expecting that type of production going forward with Ray. However, seeing as he just turned 28 and should now be entering his prime, this type of signing screams “low risk-high reward”.
Considering guys like Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, and Jake Odorizzi will likely receive the huge pitcher contracts next winter, it’s likely Matt Klentak could bring in Ray on a slight discount. It’s no secret the Phillies still need pitching help, and the thought of bringing in an established lefty starter could be too good to pass on.