Philadelphia Phillies “very aggressive” on pursuit of Zach Britton

At the winter meetings, talks are reportedly heating up between the Philadelphia Phillies and free-agent reliever Zach Britton.

Surprisingly, not much about Zach Britton has been mentioned thus far this offseason, until Tuesday, when Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic and Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Fancred jointly reported that the Philadelphia Phillies are ramping up their pursuit of signing him, noting that the Phillies remain “very aggressive”. Jim Salisbury of NBCS Philadelphia confirmed that the Phillies met with Britton’s representatives Tuesday.

Although the Phillies are indeed becoming more serious in their interest, Heyman cautions that many teams remain firmly in the mix, with the Cardinals noted as being another club with genuine interest in signing him. Previously, Britton has been linked to the New York Yankees, per Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.

At the surface, Britton seems to be a safe bet to toss some solid innings in relief for a contender; he could also close games. This season, split between the Baltimore Orioles and the Yankees, he pitched to an ERA of 3.10 in 40.2 innings, racking up seven saves and earning two wins.

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His best season, 2016, came while a member of the Orioles. With an ERA of 0.54(!), he saved 47 games and pitched 67.0 innings, putting together one of the more dominant relief seasons in recent memory. Prior to that, in 2015, he pitched to an ERA of 1.92 and notched 36 saves while finishing a league-leading 58 games. He pitched 65.2 innings that season.

For his career, he has 142 saves (12th among active pitchers), has finished 221 games (18th among active pitchers), and has been named an All-Star twice in his career.

His market has been particularly complex to define. This can be attributed both to the complicated relief landscape within which he is situated and his recent injuries that led him to be worth a measly 0.4 WAR this past season.

MLB Trade Rumors’ annual list of free agent predictions has Britton signing a three-year, $33 million deal with the Houston Astros, also adding that the aforementioned Phillies and Cardinals, as well as the Mets, Angels, Twins, Red Sox, Dodgers and Cubs could all be viable fits. Speculatively, the Indians, Giants, Diamondbacks and Nationals could also be potential landing spots, if those teams are willing to entertain the possibility of bringing him in.

Britton, just like several other former closers on the market, will likely be the source of a lot of analysis in the coming weeks. While it’s likely he signs before the winter meeting are over, he could hold out and seek to sign a longer contract with a more lucrative average annual value.