Phillies have a tough decision to make with Didi Gregorius
By David Esser
The first major offseason domino fell for the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday morning. After months and months of waiting, the team finally re-signed J.T. Realmuto. They locked up their All-Star catcher for the next five seasons on a price tag of $115.5 million, with $10 million being deferred in 2020 – a pretty favorable outcome all things considered.
With the Realmuto drama now out of the way, the Phillies front office was able to turn their attention towards the shortstop market, which rapidly started developing. It’s been well reported that the Phillies were looking to add a quality shortstop this offseason, and a lot of their options ended up evaporating just hours after the team landed upon an agreement with J.T.
Andrelton Simmons – who appeared to be the Phillies top target – signed with Minnesota, Marcus Semien went to Toronto, Freddy Galvis ended up in Baltimore, and second baseman Tommy La Stella signed with the Gabe Kapler led San Francisco Giants.
Phillies have to make a tough decision on Didi Gregorius.
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That in all honesty leaves just one major infielder left to be signed: Didi Gregorius.
Following the conclusion of the 2020 season, the general consensus amongst Philly fans was that the team should prioritize retaining Gregorius. He had a fantastic year for the Phillies at the plate (.827 OPS), and was universally loved by teammates and coaches alike. In just 60 short games, Didi definitely found a home in a good chunk of the fanbase’s hearts.
While the Phillies would likely love to see Gregorius back at SS for the 2021 season, the main wrinkle comes in regards to the two sides’ preference in contract length. The Phillies have repeatedly expressed a desire to sign a SS to a one-year deal, while Didi is reportedly hunting at least a two-year commitment.
Didi Gregorius’s 2 top choices are likely Phillies or Reds after Semien, Simmons and Galvis all went off the board today. Didi asking price thought to be $30M, 2 years.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 27, 2021
The Phillies reasoning behind preferring a one-year deal is due to what projects to be a loaded free agent SS class in 2022. Names like Javier Baez, Trevor Story, Corey Seager, and Carlos Correa are all set to be free agents, and landing anyone of them would likely push Philadelphia over the hump into the postseason for the first time since 2011.
Signing Didi to a two-year deal would absolve the Phillies chances of participating in such a loaded free agent class, which might not align with Dave Dombrowski’s longterm vision of ultimately building a World Series contender here in Philadelphia.
It’s a tough decision for the front office to make, because they really don’t have any other options out there. If they opt against re-signing Gregorius this offseason, they’ll likely have to play Jean Segura at shortstop, which is less than ideal.
Next. After months of waiting, the Phillies have finally re-signed J.T. Realmuto. dark
Dave Dombrowski and the front office will have to make a tough decision in regards to just how much they value Didi moving forward, and how confident they are in regards to potentially landing a “big fish” shortstop in 2022.