After landing Zack Wheeler earlier in the week, could Anthony Rendon be the next target for the Philadelphia Phillies?
The Philadelphia Phillies just love to spend money on players who played for their NL East division rivals. After signing Bryce Harper before last season, and adding Zack Wheeler this week, the club is turning their attention to upgrading third base. It turns out that the top third baseman left on the free agent market played in the division last year. Anthony Rendon with the World Champion Washington Nationals and Josh Donaldson with the Atlanta Braves. It looks like the club is targeting both with Rendon as option numero uno
"The Philadelphia Phillies, luxury tax be damned, plan to strongly pursue free-agent third baseman Anthony Rendon, with third baseman Josh Donaldson as a potential fall-back plan, two people with direct knowledge told USA TODAY Sports.The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Phillies have yet to publicly declare their intentions and have not met face-to-face with Rendon."
If the Philadelphia Phillies were to sign Rendon, they could then use top prospect Alec Bohm as trade bait to upgrade their other positions such as pitching. They could also use Jean Segura in a deal, to help save some money and fill some holes.
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Anthony Rendon may be the best player in the free agent market. It’s going to take “stupid” money to get him. The Philadelphia Phillies already have a ton of money invested in Harper. The fact that their farm system has been one of the worst in recent years is why they have to constantly spend money. If it takes $35 million a year to sign Rendon, I don’t think they should do it.
Instead, the Philadelphia Phillies should invest that cash into more players than just one. They should add a couple of new manager Joe Girardi’s old players from New York in Didi Gregorius and Dellin Betances.
Segura can flip to third until Bohm is ready. Kingery can be at second and then become a super utility player after Bohm takes over third. Betances can step in and help strengthen a weakness that was the bullpen last season. They could also add someone like Sergio Romo to help fortify it further as a part of those funds.
The Philadelphia Phillies do need to upgrade third base. Adding Anthony Rendon to any lineup makes it better. To me, they may be better off going with a more Atlanta Braves like approach in free agency with the amount of holes they have to fill. Smart money beats stupid in the end.