What Trevor Bauer signing with LA means for the Philadelphia Phillies
By David Esser
According to a handful of national reporters (and Trevor Bauer himself), the 2020 NL Cy Young winner is signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal is reportedly for $102 million over three seasons, with opt-outs included after years one and two. Seeing as plenty of reports had projected Bauer to sign with the NL East rival New York Mets, this deal has a bit of a positive ripple effect on the Philadelphia Phillies.
Bauer deal with Dodgers, per @Feinsand: $102M for three years, with opt outs after first and second year. Salaries: $40M in first year, $45M in second.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 5, 2021
Right off the bat (no pun intended), Bauer not landing in New York is obviously good news for the Phillies. Regardless of what you think about Bauer and his off-the-field controversies, he’s a very good starting pitcher coming off a Cy Young season. He posted a NL-best 1.73 ERA across 11 starts for the Reds last season, helping guide them to a postseason appearance.
Trevor Bauer to LA is good news for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Should the Mets have acquired the right-hander this offseason, they’d easily have the best starting rotation in all of baseball. While the Mets are still favorites to snag a Wild Card spot this upcoming season, them not having Bauer in their rotation should make life just a tad easier for the Phillies moving forward.
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On the flip side, Bauer landing in Los Angeles really has little to no effect on the Phillies and what they’re trying to accomplish in 2021. While I’d like to say that the Phils are real threats to LA this season, that’s simply not the case. The Dodgers are by far the best team in all of baseball at the moment, and adding Bauer to their elite pitching staff only further solidifies that.
The Phillies need to actually crack the postseason before worrying about what teams like Los Angeles, San Diego, and others are dong with their respective rosters.
The only potential negative to Bauer spurning New York is that it could cause them to jump back into the mix for another starting pitcher. While their current rotation definitely doesn’t need any further reinforcement (deGrom, Stroman, Carrasco, Syndergaard, Peterson), the fact that they were willing to fork over $100+ million for an Ace-caliber arm proves that they may be feeling differently.
The Phillies were recently linked to the likes of Jake Odorizzi, Taijuan Walker, and James Paxton. If the Mets are hellbent on adding another strong arm to their rotation, they could easily come over the top and outbid Philadelphia for any one of those names.
Curious if the Mets now pivot to the likes of Odorizzi, Walker, or Paxton.
— David Esser (@DavidEsser_) February 5, 2021
They definitely don’t need the rotation help, but they were ready to splash $100+ million on starting pitching. The interest is there.
Could be some extra competition for the #Phillies. https://t.co/DBvzZkDmzc
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The New York Mets still massively improved this offseason, but them losing out on the “Trevor Bauer sweepstakes” is definitely good news for the Philadelphia Phillies. While Dave Dombrowski still has some serious work to do in terms of getting this team up to par with the rest of the NL East, not having to face the 2020 NL Cy Young makes life a little bit easier for Philly.