Philadelphia Phillies rumors: Superstar shortstop on the way in 2022?

As Philadelphia Phillies fans around the world were getting ready to watch another stress-free afternoon of Spring Training baseball yesterday, MLB insider Jon Heyman decided to drop a bit of a bomb in regards to next year’s offseason.

According to Heyman, the Phillies are expected to be major players in what projects to be one of the most loaded free agent shortstop classes in baseball history:

Once Didi Gregorius was re-signed to a two-year deal earlier this offseason, fans seemingly wrote off the idea of the Phillies being active in the 2022 FA shortstop class. Clearly, that’s not actually the case. With Dave Dombrowski and his spend-happy philosophy now running the show, it looks like John Middleton will be forced to open his checkbook once more next offseason for one of the above mentioned names.

Philadelphia Phillies are already eying up big-name free agents in 2022.

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Obviously, any one of these players would be a huge acquisition for the Philadelphia Phillies. Lindor, Story, Seager, Correa, and Baez are all legitimate stars in their own right.

The main question lies in whether all of these players will actually make their way to free agency. The Mets just acquired Francisco Lindor, and will likely do everything in their power to retain him via a longterm contract this season.

Corey Seager was a major piece to the Dodgers World Series winning club last year, and LA is never short on cash. As long as Seager wants to remain a Dodger, my guess would be that he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Javy Baez, Trevor Story, and Carlos Correa on the other hand could be different stories. The Colorado Rockies are tailspinning towards an ugly rebuild, and I see little reason for Story to sign away his future to remain there. Houston and Chicago have been very good ball clubs in the past, but are likely heading towards rebuilds in the near future as well, meaning Correa and Baez should both be planning to test the open market.

Landing one of these All-Star caliber infielders would likely cost the Phillies another $200+ million, but it would undoubtedly signal that ownership is all-in on trying to win a World Series over the next few seasons. Stress has really been put on John Middleton over the last 12+ months to not “waste” Bryce Harper’s prime.

If the Phillies do end up landing one of the above mentioned shortstops, my guess is that Gregorius would be moved over to second base, and that Jean Segura would be traded to a team willing to take on his $14+ million salary. The Phillies previously explored trading Segura this offseason, so that thought is definitely already circulating within the building.

The Phillies still have to get through the 2021 season first, but hearing that they’re already eyeing up some of the big fish in next year’s free agency class is definitely good news.