The Philadelphia Phillies could be a team to watch this offseason.
Philadelphia has another disappointing playoff exit, losing in the Wild Card round to the Atlanta Braves. After an early playoff exit, the Phillies could be a team to watch in free agency.
Philadelphia hasn’t won the World Series since 2008.
Philadelphia Phillies Predicted to Sign Jazz Chisholm Jr.
The Phillies could have an opening at second base with Luis Arraez being a pending free agent.
Philadelphia could look to the trade market or free agency to replace Arraez. MLB analyst Ryan Finkelstein of JustBaseball predicts they will sign former New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to a two-year, $40 million deal.
“If you solely looked at the back of the baseball card, Jazz Chisholm Jr. would be in line to sign a long-term deal this winter,” Finkelstein wrote. “Even in a down year, Jazz hit 19 home runs and stole 41 bases. He is a year removed from a 30-30 season, and he still has plenty of real estate left in his prime. The problem is that he has been consistently inconsistent, and his eccentric personality can become a headache for teams.
“The best case for Jazz is likely a 1+1 deal where he can reset his market and have a pillow of a player option to fall back on. The Phillies have too often been in the business of long-term commitments, but this is a case where they can focus on a shorter deal to add a talented, yet unreliable player. There is no doubt that Jazz can add some more thump to the middle of the Phillies lineup. And that would be quite the stage for him to host his second crack at a platform year.”
Chisholm would be an intriguing fit for the Phillies and is a polarizing figure. He played an inning with a lollipop in his mouth, which Aaron Boone wasn’t happy about.
Chisholm is also coming off a down season and is poised for a bounceback year. He hit .231 with 19 home runs and 55 RBIs. His career-high is 31 home runs and 80 RBIs.
Philadelphia Looking to be Aggressive
The Phillies are coming off another early playoff exit, and they are looking to be more aggressive.
Dave Dombrowski, who is the team’s President of Baseball Operations, said they are trying to build a World Series team.
“We’re expecting and we want to win a World Series,” Dombrowski said. … Our ownership has been as open to doing things as anybody possibly can be. We still haven’t sat down and set our final payrolls by any means for next year.
“[Phillies managing partner and chief executive officer] John [Middleton] and the group have always been quite accommodating, but we have a lot of high-salaried guys at this point, so I think you have to figure out which way you go. I don’t think it necessarily means signing all high-salary guys, but I do think we have the flexibility [to add players].”
The Phillies have yet to make a move this offseason.
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