Why are the Phillies a “sleeper team” in the Carlos Correa race?
When Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski sat down with the media earlier this month, he outlined the organization’s postseason plans and goals: upgrade the bullpen and outfield.
Superstar free agent Carlos Correa is neither a bullpen arm nor is he an outfielder. He’s a slugging shortstop who’s looking for a big payday, the biggest of the offseason if experts are correct.
So why are the Phillies now being labeled a “sleeper team” in the race to sign him before MLB goes into an inevitable lockout when the CBA expires on December 1?
Here are three reasons Correa makes no sense for the Phillies:
1.The Phillies are saddled with Didi Gregorius’ contract
Didi Gregorius is in the final year of a two-year deal, and the Phillies owe him over $15M. Adding the most expensive free agent of the offseason to that takes a way a lot of their space under the luxury tax that should be allocated to outfielders and bullpen arms.
Yes, the Phillies could theoretically trade him, but it’s hard to picture a team being desperate enough to give up anything for a player who has been among the worst defenders in baseball for years. He also hit new career lows offensively and blamed his elbow injury on the COVID vaccine. Who wouldn’t want to add all that to their team?
2. The Phillies have top prospect Bryson Stott
Dombrowski told shortstop prospect, Bryson Stott, to spend the offseason and Spring Training working towards the goal of earning a spot on the big-league roster.
Stott skyrocketed through the Phillies farm system after being drafted in 2019. In 2021, he rose from High-A all the way up to Triple-A, and was excellent at every level. And remember, there was no minor league season in 2020.
All signs point to Stott being the rare prospect the Phillies have actually managed to develop into a successful big-leaguer. And whene he debuts in 2022, he’ll be making the major-league minimum, which is currently $570,500. That leaves a lot of money to spend on areas of the team that don’t have top prospects waiting in the wings.
3. The Phillies need to sign outfielders and pitchers
While MLB executives often obfuscate or mislead the media to distract them from their actual plans, the Phillies’ needs are clear as day, so Dombrowski would look foolish trying to pretend they need something else.
They need a closer and another reliever, at least one outfielder, and ideally, another starting pitcher. What they don’t need is to sink money into another massive contract. They have Bryce Harper until 2031, J.T. Realmuto until 2025, and Zack Wheeler until 2024. If they want to add top outfield talent, that’s another lengthy, costly contract.
The Phillies should let someone else overpay Correa and focus on their real areas in need of improvement.