Philadelphia Phillies: Pending free agents could present problems

With the 2020 MLB season very much in doubt, the Philadelphia Phillies will have some tough calls on numerous players for 2021.

Let’s not give up hope that the Philadelphia Phillies will have some semblance of a baseball season this year. In fact, some positive news has even been coming out recently in that regard. But if we indeed do not see a 2020 season, the Phillies stand to lose a number of players before getting back on the field, which will really throw a wrench into their plans.

The most obvious candidate here is J.T. Realmuto, and it goes without saying that the Phillies absolutely have to sign him. This topic has already been covered. But beyond their all-star catcher, the Phillies should have some concerns elsewhere.

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Perhaps the biggest expected contributor among the rest is newbie Didi Gregorius. He and the Phils really pulled off a win-win with their one-year contract, but how do you evaluate a guy if he never plays a single inning for your team? And would the market suddenly be hot for Didi for some unknown reason, forcing the Phillies to make him a multi-year offer? That certainly doesn’t sound like something you want to do with a 31-year old after a long layoff.

Gregorius made sense this year as the Phillies navigated the Jean Segura/Scott Kingery/Alec Bohm situation and tried to buy themselves some time. But you can’t just extend that time frame and pretend like everyone didn’t lose a year of their baseball lives. It’s a tough call for sure.

The Phils would also lose Jay Bruce, which will offer some payroll relief, but robs them of the chance to sport some good outfield depth when everyone is healthy. Bruce could have been a valuable fourth OF and bench bat this year, perhaps even fetching a draft pick or prospect at the trade deadline if he ended up getting dealt. If 2020 doesn’t happen, consider the Phillies robbed of an asset in either Bruce himself or whatever he would have netted the team in a trade.

As for the pitchers, Jake Arrieta will be gone, which might merit a parade in and of itself. It could be the Philadelphia sports highlight of 2020. But more pressing is the status of closer Hector Neris, who turns 31 next month. After avoiding arbitration with Neris and signing him to a one-year contract a few months ago, the Phillies were going to use 2020 as a critical measuring stick for his future with the club. Now, it’s basically a shot in the dark. And does he agree to come back for the same $4.6 million? Who knows anymore. David Robertson will also see his contract expire, and it’s highly unlikely the Phillies will have any appetite to bring him back. I don’t blame them.

Finally, there is the collection of random veterans that the Phillies assembled this offseason. It will be interesting to see if they merely repeat the process for 2021 if they have absolutely nothing to go by from this year, aside from a month of spring training that already feels like it was 100 years ago. I’m wondering if they sign all of the same guys, such as Francisco Liriano, Josh Harrison, Drew Storen, etc. Those players will all be one year closer to the end of their careers, which were already hanging by a thread. It might not be a wise move at all. Then again, the Phils could dig up a new crop of hangers-on if they really wanted to I’m sure.

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Every team in baseball will face issues when trying to figure out their roster and payroll for 2021 if they don’t have the previous season to look back on. But the Phillies seem like they may be hampered more than most other clubs because of the “not quite yet a contender” status that they could find themselves mired in for an additional year. And that makes it even tougher to figure out how to address their crop of pending free agents. Good luck, Matt Klentak. And Andy MacPhail, I guess, if he exists.

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