3 Last-minute moves the Phillies can still make before the MLB lockout
The Phillies still have time to make trades or sign free agents before the CBA expires at 11:59 PM on December 1
It’s December 1, and at precisely 11:59 PM tonight, the current MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement will expire. And since MLB and the players’ union have been unable to reach a new agreement, like Thanos, a lockout is inevitable.
Once the lockout commences, MLB team owners and executives are barred from contacting players, making big-league trades, and signing free agents. The whole situation is stressful, unpalatable, and bad for the game.
Due to the impending lockout, several teams have kicked their offseason plans into high gear over the last week. The Philadelphia Phillies have not been one of them, but they still have time to change that and make some moves before the deadline.
Here are three moves they can make today before the clock strikes one minute to midnight and baseball turns back into a pumpkin…
1. The Phillies should trade for Kevin Kiermaier before the CBA expires
The Tampa Bay Rays have made a few players available for trade, and longtime centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier is one of them. This is phenomenal news for the Phillies, who missed the chance to sign free-agent centerfielder Starling Marte. Instead, he signed a major deal with their division rivals, the Mets.
Marte was the only true centerfielder in this year’s free-agent class, so Kiermaier becoming available is an unexpected boon. The three-time Gold Glover has been with the Rays since the 2010 draft. He has one year remaining on his current contract, and the Rays owe him $12M, though only $9.5M counts towards the luxury tax.
Kiermaier doesn’t hit for power, and he has a less-than-ideal injury history, but he’s one of baseball’s most elite outfield defenders. And since he only has one year remaining on his contract and a club option for 2023, he’d be a perfect short-term upgrade for the Phillies, rather than some of the expensive, long-term big risks other teams have been making lately.
Trading for Kiermaier would allow the Phillies to continue developing top outfield prospect Johan Rojas, whose projected MLB ETA is 2023. If the Phillies can build him up into a true big-leaguer while Kiermaier holds it down, they will be set up for success.