Phillies need to be cautious over bringing big name stars on board
With the Winter Meetings in full swing, the Phillies have been rumored to be looking at several star players in trades. A roster filled with the unknown, is it the right idea to bring in a star player to speed up this rebuild?
Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is one of the premier players in baseball right now. With his contract set to expire after this upcoming season, the Orioles are looking to trade him in order to gain something of value rather than lose him for nothing in free agency, which is why the Philadelphia Phillies have been involved with recent trade rumors. Several teams have been in discussions for Machado, but few have the necessary prospects to pull off a deal, unlike the Phillies. Along with Machado, other star players on the market linked to the Phillies are Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke, and free agent Cy Young winning pitcher Jake Arrieta.
After several underwhelming seasons, the Phillies are seemingly ready to move out of the rebuilding phase. In the last year, several prospects have come up through the system and have played well, which is a step in the right direction. For a losing team to become competitive again, it takes more than just a few solid young players to step up, as there needs to be veteran leadership and some star power. Machado, Greinke or Arrieta could provide that star power, but the real question is if the Phillies have enough of the other two areas to succeed.
Take a look at the last time Philadelphia made major acquisitions, as Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Hunter Pence were expensive at the time, but also the reason the Phillies traded for them is because they were the missing pieces to be true competitors. Right now, any superstar isn’t going to put the team over the top, as they are still a few years away. Yes, having a superstar on the team will help win more games and potentially draw in other free agents, but the window of time to compete with that superstar may close by the time the Phillies form a team ready to make the playoffs.
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There’s still a long way to go for the Phillies roster in order to find success, and giving up tons of top prospects for one superstar isn’t going to fix the other holes. While it would be awesome to see Machado, Greinke, or Arrieta dawning red pinstripes, it would be in the teams best interest to wait another year in order to build a stronger roster for when a superstar does come to town.