3. Phillies sign George Springer.
Based on offseason rumors, the New York Mets or Toronto Blue Jays seem most poised to sign outfielder George Springer — a three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, and 2017 World Series Most Valuable Player.
The seven-year veteran has played his entire career with the Houston Astros, starting in 2014, when he impressed as a rookie with 20 home runs and 51 RBI across just 78 games. His early-career success has continued since, including in 2019 when the Connecticut native slugged career highs in home runs (39) and RBI (96).
Although he is just 31 years old, Springer has already put together a career as one of the best postseason performers of all time. His 19 home runs rank as tied with Albert Pujols for fourth-most all-time, trailing only Manny Ramirez (29), Bernie Williams (22), and Derek Jeter (20). Five of these home runs came during the 2017 Fall Classic alone opposite the Los Angeles Dodgers. Springer slashed .379/.471/1.000 that series, along with slugging three doubles and seven RBI through 34 plate appearances in the seven-game series.
Springer would be a significant upgrade for the Phillies at the center field position, over alternative options such as Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn. If new team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is able to lure the slugger to Philadelphia, it would have a similar feeling as to when the Phillies inked southpaw Cliff Lee, rather than the left-hander going to the New York Yankees. This scenario seems possible again a decade later, with Springer coming to the Phillies instead of the Mets. It all depends, however, whether the Phillies are willing to spend.