Blake Snell not the Phillies' first choice
Recently crowned NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell was first thought to be one of the Philadelphia Phillies' top targets this winter as a backup plan after Aaron Nola. But recent reports suggest that the team may have cooled off on their pursuit of Snell.
The Athletic's Jayson Stark recently unveiled the about-face from the Phillies (subscription required) regarding their offseason trajectory.
"But here’s one often-rumored name they [the Phillies] appear to be just lukewarm on. That’s the likely NL Cy Young, Blake Snell, whose walk rate, inconsistency and lack of year-in, year-out volume make him almost the diametric opposite of Nola," Stark reports. "However, if Nola hits the exit ramp and Yamamoto goes to a team with a richer history with Japanese players, Snell could still be in play."
It's not as if the Phillies have completely given up on pursuing Snell, but they seem to have made it clear he's not their first choice.
So, who are Dave Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld kicking the tires on if they're not all-in on Snell?
Stark makes the obvious connection to the Rangers' Jordan Montgomery, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Minnesota's Sonny Gray.
He also posits that the Phillies will certainly be in play for top trade candidates. He suggests the Milwaukee Brewers' Corbin Burnes, the Tampa Bay Rays' Tyler Glasnow, and the Cleveland Guardians' Shane Bieber as likely targets, all three of whom we examined earlier in the offseason as potential trade candidates for the Phillies.