Phillies are one of eight teams to not spend a single dollar in free agency ahead of tonight’s CBA expiration
The Philadelphia Phillies are one of eight teams to not spend a single dollar in free agency ahead of tonight’s expiration of Major League Baseballs collective bargaining agreement.
To be fair most of the big money is going to starting pitchers and they are pretty solid on that front. I guarantee they are waiting for the luxury tax situation to change so they can finally add some payroll. Right?
Regardless, league business will not continue following the 11:59pm deadline tonight. Teams will not be able to sign any free agents or really, conduct any type of MLB activities until a new CBA is signed.
Joining the Phillies would be the Arizona Diamondback, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland “Guardians”, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and San Diego Padres. Matt Gelb is including the Minnesota Twins as well, but as he noted, they did spend $100 million (lol) on a Byron Buxton extension.
As expected, the Phillies did tender Rhys Hoskins, Zach Eflin, and Jose Alvarado yesterday. They also signed Seranthony Dominguez to a one year deal ahead of his arbitration eligibility. These are moves that had to be made and honestly, they are good ones. However, they are not moves that will make the Phillies a contender or even a competitive team for the playoffs.
There are major holes that need to be addressed. You can start in left field before and centerfield. There’s also a good amount of uncertainty at shortstop after a rough 2021 campaign from Didi Gregorius, with a young Bryson Stott ready to compete for the job in Spring Training.
From there, the next area of concern would be the bullpen. This team still does not have a closer or honestly, any reliable bullpen arms heading into next year.
The Phillies have been linked to the following players that are still on the free agent board. Click below to find out the latest on each player and where we currently stand 12 hours before the CBA expiration.
Hard to be optimistic about the Phillies at this point. There’s still some time left on the clock to make some moves today but I certainly wouldn’t hold your breath.
Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
[…] Hopefully this will be the first of a few moves from the Phillies today before the CBA expiration at midnight. Up until Knebel, the Phillies organization spent zero dollars in free agency. […]