Philadelphia Phillies: Lance McCullers Jr. emerging as a trade target?

If you’ve been following the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason, you’ll know that Dave Dombrowski and company have repeatedly checked in on some starting pitchers. They had scouts at Corey Kluber’s throwing session prior to him signing with the New York Yankees, they’ve reportedly been in touch with the likes of Anibal Sanchez and Julio Teheran, and they were just recently mentioned in the Jameson Taillon trade discussions (prior to him also landing in New York).

With Vince Velasquez set to be the team’s fifth starter at the moment (yikes!), and Spencer Howard likely limited to a pitch count in his second season, the Phillies genuinely do need some starting pitching depth.

Philadelphia Phillies eyeing a move for Astros righty Lance McCullers Jr.?

While reporting that the Phillies had interest in Taillon, MLB insider Ryan M. Spaeder threw out the possibility of the Phillies pivoting towards Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. instead – as they continue to seek an established arm to fill out their promising rotation.

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Speader had this to say on Twitter:

"“Heard some rumblings about the #Phillies possibly considering try to move on Taillon — should he become unavailable, signing a starter seems like the next best option, but I think they may consider trying to reach for Lance McCullers Jr.”"

Now for what it’s worth, the Astros should (in theory) have little desire to move McCullers Jr. this offseason. He’s coming off a strong 2020 campaign, and he’s still just 27 years old. He did miss the entirety of the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery, but he appears to have recovered from it exceptionality well.

Following the Astros re-signing of Michael Brantley for $30+ million, it would shock me to see them move towards a “selling” mindset. Obviously they’ve taken some major hits in recent years – losing the likes of Gerrit Cole and most recently George Springer. However, the Tampa Bay Rays lost a ton of key players as well this offseason, meaning the window for a team like Houston could still be open.

On the flip side, McCullers Jr. is set to make $6 million in 2021. While normally that would be viewed as an extremely affordable contract for a starting pitcher, times are different in this COVID-19 stricken baseball landscape. A lot of teams are desperately trying to shed salary and cut payroll, and $6 million is a healthy amount to pay if you don’t view yourself as a legit contender.

McCullers Jr. will also be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and it’s unknown if Houston would be willing to shell out even more money to retain him into his early 30s.

The Philadelphia Phillies haven’t jumped at the opportunity to hand out big contracts this offseason, but they’re still in a fairly good spot to take on salary if they so choose. They’re nowhere close to the luxury tax threshold, and Dombrowski of course has never been known to shy away from making big deals.

Next. Are the Philadelphia Phillies poised to become last minute buyers?. dark

Ricky Amandeo of PhillySportsNetwork.com wrote a piece a few days ago highlighting who McCullers Jr. is as a player, and what the Phillies might have to offer to land him. I highly recommended giving it a read if you’re not super familiar with McCullers Jr., or are just looking for more information on the Houston right-hander: “Phillies Trade Machine: Could Philly land Lance McCullers Jr.?“

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