Phillies could still land Bryce Harper or Manny Machado after Andrew McCutchen

With the Philadelphia Phillies agreeing to a deal with Andrew McCutchen, the chances of signing Bryce Harper or Manny Machado may not be a long shot.

For months, there’s been plenty of excitement surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies heading into the 2018 Winter Meetings, mainly when looking at the money the team has to spend.

In fact, two of the biggest free agents in Bryce Harper and Manny Machado have been linked as potential targets for the Phillies over the last few months. And while that could still very well happen, it looks like the team has already found another outfielder to improve their chances of contenting in 2019 with Andrew McCutchen.

Over the last couple of weeks, McCutchen was an interesting name in regards to the Phillies since while he could provide a boost to the outfield, the fact that he just turned 32 in October seemed like a concern.

However, when taking into consideration that McCutchen is a five-time All Star and a former MVP, Tuesday’s news that he will be joining Philadelphia should have fans beyond excited.

Not to mention, when seeing how McCutchen has recorded at least 20 home runs for eight seasons in a row along with the fact that his speed makes him a serious threat each time on base, what’s not to like about this McCutchen deal?

As for the Phillies fans feeling frustrated over the team signing McCutchen over another star such as Harper or Machado, keep in mind that just because the veteran outfielder is now on board doesn’t necessarily mean the others should be ruled out.

Yes, it may seem difficult to imagine Philadelphia figuring out a way to still make room for Harper or Machado after spending that money on McCutchen, but also this is the perfect example of their aggressive approach to the offseason.

Even if the Phillies would have to pull off a trade or two with some of their younger players to make this happen, there’s no question it would be well worth it in the long run when looking at how much their chances of competing would improve heading into 2019.

Philadelphia made it clear early on they were going to be aggressive this offseason after the disappointment that resulted in them collapsing in the final two months last season, and so far they’ve been living up to the hype, although they still have a long way to go.

Now that McCutchen and Jean Segura are officially on board, Phillies can only hope that someone like Machado or Harper will be the next signing announced.

They certainly have plenty of teams to compete with, but from Philadelphia’s perspective, the team seems confident enough in being able to convince one of these stars when looking at this current team being built.