Phillies' worst-case scenario looming with Mets planning 'aggressive' offseason
The NL East could be a formidable division next year if the Mets are as aggressive in the offseason as it sounds like they want to be.
When the 2024 season began, Philadelphia Phillies fans were focused on the Atlanta Braves as the main competition in the NL East. It made sense, the Braves had won six consecutive division titles. The New York Mets were an afterthought, and for much of the season, they proved that label accurate.
But, in the end, the division rival that caused the Phillies the most headaches was the Mets. Now that they've also been ousted from the playoffs, they held their end-of-season press conference on Wednesday, and president of baseball operations David Stearns launched an aggressive shot across the bow at offseason competitors.
Phillies' worst-case scenario looming with Mets planning 'aggressive' offseason
The Mets, along with their cross-town counterparts, the New York Yankees, are considered the favorites to land mega-free agent Juan Soto for what will be a massive long-term contract. Owner Steve Cohen has deep pockets and hasn't been afraid to throw his proverbial weight around — even if all his spending hasn't exactly panned out as planned.
“Pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible to us,” Stearns said about the Mets' approach to free agency, per MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. “That’s an enormous opportunity. I envision us taking advantage of that opportunity and being aggressive in certain spaces.”
That's a big, bold statement and it sure sounds like the Mets mean business. It's a stark contrast to how Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski sounded during his season-ending presser a couple of weeks ago.
According to Dombrowski, the Phillies are heading into the offseason being "open-minded to making adjustments,” per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Those aren't exactly inspiring words for fans to rally around.
Regarding the potential of adding another star player, Dombrowski poured cold water on that idea.
“I don’t think we need to add more star players, we have about as many stars as anybody in baseball, so I don’t think necessarily we have to add more,” Dombrowski said. He didn't necessarily rule it out, but again, it doesn't sound like Phillies fans should be holding their breath for a serious New York-esque shot at Soto.
To be clear, Stearns didn't actually say they were going to be aggressive in pursuit of Soto. He technically can't say that, for fear of tampering charges.
“I don’t know,” Stearns said about taking a big shot at a long-term, big-money deal in free agency, per DiComo. “I think it’s too early to determine exactly where we’re going to take our shots. And so we’ll continue to evaluate that plan and that path as we move through the offseason.”
The Phillies not landing Soto because they're not willing to offer a contract for which bidding is estimated to start at $500 million wouldn't be the end of the world. Sure, it would be tough to miss out because of his immense talent and age, especially for a lineup that could use a better plate approach.
What would make missing out on Soto worse would be seeing him return to the NL East and call Citi Field his new home for the next decade-plus.
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