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At this point, you have to say the Phillies have improved this offseason. Their top two free agents are back, they’ve added some help to the pen and have a new, well-respected president of baseball operations who has accomplished a ton in under two months on the job.
The Phillies opened the week by signing JT Realmuto to a five-year, $ 115.5 million contract. They followed up with the deal Friday for starting pitcher Matt Moore, then struck a two-year, $ 28 million deal on Saturday with Didi Gregorius.
The Phillies have committed $ 152.5 million this offseason to Realmuto, Gregorius, Archie Bradley and Moore. They added about $ 1 million more by trading for leftist reliever Jose Alvarado.
The only team that has spent more free agent money this offseason than the Phillies is the Toronto Blue Jays, whose biggest prize was George Springer for $ 150 million over six years. The team that signs Trevor Bauer could get ahead of the two in off-season spending.
The Phillies carried a small chunk of the money into the deals for Realmuto and Gregorius, sources told NBC Sports Philadelphia. This will help cash flow in 2021 given the uncertainty of base attendance amid the pandemic.
The numbers that count towards the luxury tax threshold, however, are the annual average values of these transactions. For Realmuto, the figure is $ 23.1 million. For Gregorius, it’s $ 14 million. From a luxury tax standpoint, that puts the 2021 Phillies player payrolls at just over $ 195 million. The tax threshold for 2021 is $ 210 million. A first-time offender, which the Phillies would be if they passed him, is taxed 20% on every dollar over $ 210 million, which is calculated at the end of the season.
That’s a lot of money to spend on a non-playoff team, which the Phillies have been every year since 2012. And with these moves, they need to end this drought in 2021. Signed and in their prime the Phillies have Bryce Harper, Realmuto, Gregorius, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, as well as ascendant players like Alec Bohm and Zach Eflin.
They have spent over $ 850 million on players over the past four seasons.
They’ve also already committed around $ 134.5 million for the 2022 payroll. Andrew McCutchen, Odubel Herrera and Vince Velasquez will likely be off the books, along with others with smaller contracts.
Context aside, you would say the Phillies will have a better winning percentage this season than in the past. But a lot has happened this winter in the demanding NL East.
The Mets, under new owner Steve Cohen, have become big spenders. They added Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco, James McCann and Trevor May this offseason. They might end up with Bauer as well.
The Nationals have made solid yearlong additions like Brad Hand, Jon Lester and Kyle Schwarber. Without the World Series hangover this season, they should be better.
And the Braves are the class of the division. They have MVP, Freddie Freeman, and dynamic talents like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies. They have some exciting young throws with Max Fried, Ian Anderson and Mike Soroka. Adding Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly to the rotation will help. The Braves’ big question mark is Marcell Ozuna, who lingered in free agency after nearly winning the Triple Crown in the shortened 2020 season. If they lose it, they might lose some wins.
The Phillies are better, but so are the Division. The calendar won’t do them any favors either, as explained here.
We weren’t sure the Phillies were in winning mode now when the offseason started. There is no doubt at this point. The goal will be to make the playoffs, whether the peloton consists of 10 teams in total or more.
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