Re-signing Didi Gregorius proves Philadelphia Phillies desire to win

Just under two weeks ago, and people were feeling pretty “doom and gloom” about the Philadelphia Phillies chances in 2021. Both J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius remained unsigned, the bullpen was still a disaster, and the starting rotation consisted of Vince Velasquez in a permanent role.

Now, the tide has completely flipped. Following deals for the likes of Archie Bradley, J.T. Realmuto, Matt Moore, and now of course Didi Gregorius, the Phillies have positioned themselves to be competitive in 2021. More importantly, owner John Middleton and president Dave Dombrowski are signaling to the fanbase that they are in fact trying to bring a World Series back to the city of Philadelphia, even if it means spending more than the rest of the league.

This year’s offseason has been a weird one, primarily due to COVID-19 affecting team’s ability to spend on the open market. A lot of markets that were once viewed as “buyers” have turned into “sellers”, and teams are desperately trying to shed salary in any which way possible. The Colorado Rockies literally just forfeited $50 million alongside superstar 3B Nolan Arenado, just to get out of his contract later down the road.

Re-signing Didi shows the Philadelphia Phillies are serious about competing.

The Philadelphia Phillies on the other hand, appear to be doing the opposite, flexing their financial might on the open market. After already dropping $115.5 million on the likes of retaining Realmuto, they then turned around just a few days later and splashed $28 million to bring back Gregorius.

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With the Phillies “crying poor” left and right heading into the offseason, the likelihood of re-signing both J.T. and Didi seemed extremely slim. Now, with Spring Training right around the corner, the Phillies have managed to retain the core pieces of an offense that had the 7th best OPS in all of baseball last year.

Even with there still being some concerns with the bullpen and starting rotation, having an elite offense is always a good way to keep your team in the hunt for October baseball. A middle-of-the-order lineup consisting of Harper, Realmuto, Gregorius, Hoskins, and Bohm is pretty comparable to the top teams around the MLB.

Specifically looking at Gregorius and what he brings to the table, he’s obviously a huge get for the Phillies. He was fantastic in 2020 – posting a near career-high OPS of .827, while simultaneously leading the team in RBIs. His charisma instantly caused the fanbase to fall in love with him, and the clubhouse overall just seemed like a better place with Didi around.

While the two-year nature of the contract does likely rule the Phillies out when it comes to competing in the historic free agent shortstop class of 2022, having Didi on the roster for the next 300+ games is definitely a positive development.

Above all else, re-signing Didi mere days after $100+ million was spent on Realmuto is a sign of competitiveness from the Phillies front office. They believe they can contend this year, and they’re spending the money to do.

As of right now, the Phils have actually spent the second highest amount of money this offseason, trailing only the Toronto Blue Jays…