Are the Philadelphia Phillies poised to become last minute buyers?

So, former Philadelphia Phillies general manager Matt Klentak was kinda… right? The often criticized Phillies front office employee hedged his bets on this year’s free agency period being a quiet one, and for the most part, his assessment has been correct thus far. Whether intentional or not, the decision to not re-sign some of the teams top players has now set the current regime up in a favorable position.

J.T. Realmuto remains an unsigned free agent (and will likely receive far less that his camp initially projected), Didi Gregorius is also without a team at the moment, and a handful of elite-level relievers/starters are available to be snagged on potential one-year deals.

With all of that in mind, Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies now find themselves in a spot where they can rapidly improve their ball club, without spending big-time money in the process of doing so.

Philadelphia Phillies could still add multiple free agents.

Right off the bat (no pun intended), all signs continue to point to the Philadelphia Phillies bringing back their All-Star catcher for the foreseeable future. All the teams that were reportedly interested in him leading into the offseason have pivoted their money elsewhere, leaving the Phillies the lone suitor still willing to hand over $100+ million. The Braves were briefly connected to J.T. earlier this week, but if I’m being completely honest that just feels like Realmuto’s agent attempting to drive up value at the last second.

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Additionally, the Phillies have remained in contact with a handful of free agent shortstops. Bringing Gregorius back on a 1-2 year deal very much remains in the picture, and someone like former MVP candidate Marcus Semien could be in play as well. Other free agent infielders like Andrelton Simmons and Freddy Galvis have also been linked to the Phils in recent weeks.

Dombrowski hasn’t shied away from looking at further pitching depth either.

The Phillies reportedly had scouts at Corey Kluber’s public throwing session (he signed with the Yankees), and have also expressed interest in the likes of Anibal Sanchez and Julio Teheran. Whether it’s one of these names or someone else, it feels fairly likely that Dombrowski will bring in another starting pitcher to compete with the likes of Vince Velasquez.

Key free agent relievers like Alex Colome (who the Phillies were interested in), Brad Hand, Shane Greene, and Jeremy Jeffress (who the Phillies were also linked to) all remain unsigned as well. While Archie Bradley was a welcome addition to the Phillies league-worst bullpen, further help is needed, and there are simply a ton of solid relief arms out there who would likely sign on for cheap at this point in the offseason.

Next. Philadelphia Phillies chances of signing J.T. Realmuto just went way up. dark

While it may seem like things are still moving at a snail-like pace, this offseason has played out pretty favorably for a team like the Phillies. Ownership clearly doesn’t want to spend, but asking prices are so low that Dombrowski will likely convince Middleton to cough up another couple million if that means fielding a playoff caliber roster in 2021.

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