Philadelphia Phillies: Does MSM set the Phillies targets?

Accepted opinion can drive notions about what should happen this off-season; the Phillies should think outside that particular box.

Assuming you all “get” the use of “MSM,” the question Philadelphia Phillies fans want answered reasonably quickly is whether or not the team management will properly augment the team the organization began to build last winter. The GM meetings are starting. Deals need to be done.

With that in mind, I read with some (minimal) interest an article on the Phillies website that included this passage:

“Big moves rarely take place at this event, though the foundation for the offseason ahead can often be laid during the Meetings. Executives will exchange trade concepts, monitor who may available after the non-tender date, and of course, meet with agents representing this year’s talented crop of free agents.”

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The point at which I accessed this article was somewhat past mid-day Nov. 12, the first day of the meetings, and the Phillies had done nothing to improve their team, apparently, by then. The most interesting return from Mr. Google’s search for “Philadelphia Phillies News” was an article about Philly considering Matt Stairs, Joe Dillon, and Chili Davis as candidates for hitting coach. (Yawn.)

Additionally, in the opinion of Mark Feinsand, the fellow who wrote the definition of the expensive executives’ meeting quoted above, “the Angels, Dodgers and Yankees are the three teams most likely to seriously pursue [Gerrit] Cole.” Holy Hell! Who saw that coming?! The Dodgers and Yankees??? And really, the Angels are finally aware of the fact they’re totally wasting Mike Trout???

All right, all right. MLB is big business, it’s mid-November, people don’t commit big money early, fan impatience is ignored by Philly sports executives.

(You missed that?)

So, there are two points that need to be made here from the point of view of Phillies fans: First, the team needs to be a serious contender for Gerrit Cole. It’s quite apparent they could also use Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Secondly, as has been suggested, the Phillies need to fix third base. So, at the big meeting in Scottsdale this week, maybe the Phillies crowd could corner the Cubs crowd to discuss a trade for Kris Bryant.

This notion is complicated by the fact that Bryant has filed a complaint alleging the Small Bears manipulated his MLB service time by doing what a lot of teams do, holding him in the minors to delay his free agency eligibility. That all occurred in 2015, and thus, the complaint was filed this past October – it takes some time to reach free agency. Some have suggested this matter would be resolved before the winter meetings. It hasn’t been yet, but those meetings are still weeks away.

Some suggest Bryant, aside from this money matter, is happy as a Cub, but there seems no reason not to test that, specifically with an offer of Scott Kingery along with whichever of the back of the rotation starters are still under contract, Gabe Kapler’s curveball machine, cash, and whatever else is needed.

All of this throws into doubt what will happen relative to a basic choice between a guy (Bryant) who made almost $13 million in 2019 and his supposed arbitration eligibility vs. a guy (Kingery) who made $1.5 million in 2019 and is tied up firmly until 2023, so OK, maybe this week involves preliminary discussion.

The Phillies shouldn’t, however, dismiss the notion of trading for Bryant. In Philly, he’d be a 6-foot-5, 230-pound third baseman with a short porch in left and a lot less wind than in Chicago.

But you’re not going to know anything about it.