No one likes being used.
We are not things to be toyed with, picked up and used like some old book, a play-thing for the world. We are people. We have a voice. We have souls.
Folks, the Phillies (and their fans) are being used right now. They/we are the plaything for a jilted lover who is trying to make their ex jealous.
Over the weekend, USA Today national baseball scribe Bob Nightengale excited a bored-out-of-our-minds fanbase with a nugget of a rumor that would certainly jumpstart the off-season if it had any validity to it whatsoever.
“Several executives think the Philadelphia Phillies could be a sleeper for one of the remaining marquee free agents in starter Jordan Montgomery or center fielder Cody Bellinger. Their lone big move has been re-signing Aaron Nola, and Bellinger certainly would provide Gold Glove-caliber defense and another bat to balance the lineup. Montgomery would strengthen the top of the rotation.”
Nightengale followed that up with a sentence that probably speaks more to the reality of the situation than anything previously written.
“Yet, unless their price-tags drop, the Phillies plan to remain patient.”
On the latest edition of Hittin’ Season, we discussed this possibility at length…
…and no, none of us were buying it.
Folks, player agents have been using the deep-pocketed Phils to drum up a market for their clients all winter long, and this appears to be no different. There were “rumors” Dave Dombrowski was going to go after reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell and reliever Josh Hader. Neither is/was close to being true. Yes, the rumors of them pursuing Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto were correct, but generally speaking, player agents have been using the Phils and Dombrowski as leverage to get their clients the money they’re seeking.
Montgomery is the second-best starting pitcher left on the free agent market, while Bellinger is the clear-cut best hitter, a corner outfielder that would slide into the Phillies’ left field slot were he to sign. At the start of the off-season, Bellinger was looking for a deal north of $200 million, and Montgomery was likely seeking something over $150 million. It’s hard to imagine, with just two weeks to go until pitchers and catchers report, that either player will get that kind of deal.
Enter, the Phillies.
While not out of the realm of possibility, it is far more likely Dombrowski and the Phils are being used to try and make it seem like the market for these respective players is more robust than it actually is.
Make no mistake, both players would help the Phillies and, should this rumor actually have some validity to it, both would be welcome additions.
Montgomery would slide into the No. 3 spot in the rotation and give the Zack Wheeler/Aaron Nola/Montgomery/Ranger Suarez rotation the best top-four in all of baseball. If they got Bellinger, he’d provide plus-defense in left field and negate the need to see if Johan Rojas can be a consistent big league hitter. The caveat is both players would be looking to sign with a contender on a multi-year deal with an opt-out after the ‘24 season, or a straight-up one year deal.
And Dombrowski did sign Nick Castellanos in mid-March, weeks before the start of the 2022 season, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility he’d jump on a player like this if the opportunity cost was too good to pass up. Either would increase the Phils’ chances of reaching the World Series.
That being said, like a lonely wealthy man in search of love, it is likely the Phillies are simply being used for their money.
