As we head into the third week of the Major League Baseball offseason since the World Series ended, free agent signings and trades have been few and far between, unless you’re the Los Angeles Angels. Everyone else, for the most part, is waiting for the biggest domino to fall: free agent Juan Soto.
Yes, we’re back to the Soto rumors again in Philadelphia. It feels like it’s been a rollercoaster so far this month, with new tidbits of information seemingly coming out daily. The latest Philadelphia Phillies news concerning the top free agent outfielder is that, apparently, the Phillies haven’t been in touch with Soto’s camp yet.
Phillies shockingly haven't even been in touch with Juan Soto's camp
Despite word from multiple sources that the reigning NL East champions have been planning a meeting with Soto and his representatives, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Phillies haven’t actually placed a call to agent Scott Boras yet.
“Oh, and after all of speculation that the Philadelphia Phillies are involved in the Soto sweepstakes?” Nightengale writes about where the Phillies stand in the Soto sweepstakes. “They haven’t had a single conversation with Boras to express interest in Soto.”
What gives? How can this be?
The Phillies are expected to be one of six teams in contention to sign the 26-year-old superstar this winter, with a deal expected to be done as early as the Winter Meetings. They’re up against the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. Those are all the teams known to have already met with Soto.
In the latest update from Randy Miller of NJ.com, it appears all five of the other teams involved have made offers previously.
If suitors are already into the "submitting offers" phase, how have the Phillies not even made a call yet? After getting fans all worked up, the Phillies aren’t giving us much hope of fixing the disappointing and disjointed outfield with the one big move that would guarantee it this winter.
To be fair, the Phillies haven’t sounded particularly confident about their chances in the race for Soto anyway. Managing partner John Middleton has already said he doesn't believe Soto even wants to leave New York. Although he doesn’t mind being part of the bidding at first. It has also been suggested they're dragging their heels as they attempt to clear salary.
Even if they're not taking themselves as a serious landing spot for Soto, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski needs to put the Phillies into the mix and see how it shakes out. Anything less seems irresponsible with the caliber of hitter available to plug a serious weakness.
At the very least, they can and should help make it more expensive for the other teams involved.