Wow. What a day it was yesterday. So many things happened in the MLB lockout and the 76ers landed James Harden for a package centered around a guy who was too upset to play the entire season because of a mental illness that has been miraculously cured since the trade. Before I get into the Phillies part of this article, it is an absolute joke that Ben Simmons will get away with claiming mental illness so he could collect his money without having to play. Not only is it illegal (stealing), it is a real setback for people that actually do suffer from mental illnesses. There has been a stigma that comes with having mental health issues, especially for men, and this clown basically made it harder for people to ask for help, which is the hardest thing to do. The next time a Philadelphia athlete decides to look for help because they are struggling mentally, Ben Simmons is going to be the first thing everyone else thinks of. If you are reading this and have been experiencing hardships with your mental health, please tell somebody so you can get the help that you need.
Now that the city can finally move on from the latest diva, I want to talk about the latest developments in the negotiations between the MLB and MLBPA. It has been agreed upon that there will be a DH in both leagues now. This impacts the Phillies significantly. The most likely move is taking Rhys off the field, moving Bohm to first base, and having a young guy or free agent signing start the year at third. if I had to guess, it would be Johan Camargo or Scott Kingery. It would be great to get any production from either of those guys considering Camargo was a minor-league contract signee, and Kingery has been, well, a bust so far. This also means the Phillies can dip back into the FA market again and look for someone who can play third. This list includes Kris Bryant, Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, and more guys that are a step below those three. Of the three, Bryant is most likely to come to Philadelphia, Harper’s presence will have an influence, the term and salary are obviously going to have an influence as well, but so is playing 81 games in Citizens Bank Park. I would love to bring in Trevor Story, I think he’s better than Correa (and he comes with less baggage as well) and would sign for less than Correa in all likelihood. The DH also means JT will see less time behind the plate and more time as either DH or at first, so the backup catcher becomes even more important now. Rafael Marchan had a bit of success last year in limited time with the big club, but he is the best defensive catcher in the organization, including JT Realmuto. They will probably have to look for another catcher as well because if either of those guys are out for more than a week or so, Logan O’Hoppe is probably the next man up.
Another thing that has been reported is there will be no more compensatory draft picks in the situation where a player accepts a contract from another team after declining the qualifying offer he was made by his original team. An example is when the Phillies signed Bryce Harper away from the Nationals. Bryce was extended a qualifying offer which he declined and signed with the Phillies. Since they lost him after making a QO, the Nationals were given a compensatory draft pick. these picks usually come after the first round and before the second. This doesn’t necessarily involve the Phillies too much because they don’t hit on draft picks, and they have never hesitated to go after free agents because they would lose a draft pick.
Finally, the last thing I have been hearing is that the higher a team goes over the luxury tax, the higher the penalties will be. The Phillies and John Middleton will not pay the luxury tax at all so this being discussed does not really have an effect on them.
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