The free agency of star outfielder Juan Soto, undeniably the No. 1 player available on the market, hasn’t yet reached the point of teams making offers. Instead, Soto and agent Scott Boras have spent recent weeks meeting with the brain trusts of several interested clubs, including the New York Yankees, New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Soto and Boras reportedly met with another title contender this week: the Philadelphia Phillies.
We at CBS Sports have been highlighting Soto’s potential fits all winter. Today, that means examining three reasons why Soto’s fit with the Philadelphia Phillies makes sense.
Let’s get to it.
1. Willing ownership, winning situation
One of Soto’s supposed priorities in picking his next team is joining a franchise whose owner is committed to winning. What, precisely, that entails is subject to conjecture — we would have to assume that any winner willing to pony up for Soto would fit the bill. Regardless, we think that any sober analysis of these things will reach the conclusion that Phillies owner John Middleton is an individual who seems to understand what professional sports are all about and how he fits into the equation.
“It’s remarkable how special this city is as a fan base. It’s why I keep telling everybody, it may be a privately-held business that we own, but it’s not a private organization. It’s a very public organization. It’s a stewardship,” Middleton said in August. “We have an obligation. We are accountable to the fans and to the city. If you don’t approach it that way, you shouldn’t be an owner, in my opinion.”
Middleton has backed up his talk with action. The Phillies have fielded a top-five payroll in each of the past four seasons. They’ve made sizable free-agent investments in Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Zack Wheeler; they’ve reached extensions with Wheeler and Aaron Nola to keep their core in place; and so on. That they’ve been rewarded with three consecutive trips to the postseason is only just. With or without Soto, the chances seem good that they’ll extend that streak to at least four.
2. Payroll flexibility
As for the budget component, the Phillies have the ability to add yet another big salary to their collection because they have several large deals nearing their ends.
This time next year, more than $40 million will be freed up by the expiration of Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto’s pacts; the winter after that will see Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker — along with nearly $40 million more of obligations — clear.
Obviously there’s more to this stuff than just money in and money out. The Phillies have to do the calculus on how spending $40 million annually on one player impacts their roster-building as opposed to spreading it over three or four players. But, just in terms of pure opportunity and spending power, they have the ability to make a competitive offer without running their payroll into uncharted waters
3. Familiar faces
Now, mind you, the only faces that actually matter in this process are the green ones. Everything else ranges from trivial to irrelevant. Still, we feel obligated to point out that Soto would be reuniting with several former coworkers if he signed with the Phillies.
You can start that count with Bryce Harper, who shared an outfield with Soto during the 2018 season as part of the Washington Nationals. The Phillies also employ shortstop Trea Turner, hitting coach Kevin Long, and special assistant to the general manager Howie Kendrick — each of whom either played with or coached Soto in D.C.
Does any of this matter? Again, we’re skeptical.
In a broad sense, Soto’s fit on the Phillies would be the same as it would be with any other team. In the short term, he would play a corner-outfield slot and bat near the top of the order; in the long run, he might slide into the DH role as he loses a step.
We suppose the Phillies differ a little from the average suitor in one respect: they have two big left-handed bats already located near the top of their lineup, in Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. For some reason, we just don’t think manager Rob Thomson would mind if he had to bat Soto back-to-back with one of those lefties.
Of course, the Phillies aren’t alone in their pursuit of Soto. Most of the league’s high rollers are involved to some extent. The Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Red Sox have also had meetings with Soto and Boras.
We’ll see how the bidding process plays out, but it’s easy to understand why the Phillies have interest in meeting with Soto, and how he might fit into their dream scenario — even if they aren’t considered to be among the favorites to land him.
