A Future Beyond Mike Trout
Dreams of a Phillies outfield consisting of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout were dashed this week when it was announced that Trout is finalizing a 12-year, $430 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
The announcement was met with sadness and a little bit of anger from Phillies fans. The sadness, okay, it was nice to dream, but deep down we all knew the likelihood of signing the best player in baseball was going to be a long road, no matter how strong his Philadelphia ties are.
But the anger was surprising. The Angels came out of nowhere with this gigantic offer. It’s pretty tough to turn down something like this, no matter how small the chances are of ever sniffing the World Series. But besides that, the Angels might have just given the Phillies a gift.
Look, Trout is phenomenal. He’s the best player of his generation, and when he retires, he has a strong case to go down as one of the top guys to ever the play the game, if not the top guy. But $430 million? That is an insane amount of money, especially for a player who became a nice possible have – not a must have – after the Harper signing.
And paying two outfielders $760 million over 13 seasons could have really handcuffed the organization. Other players – like Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto – will need extensions negotiated in a few seasons.
The Phillies will be OK in the outfield without Trout. Harper will put up MVP type numbers year in and year out. Adam Haseley and Mickey Moniak are still in the minors, and both have the potential to be tremendous players. Time is ticking, and their play needs to improve (especially Moniak’s), but there is hope.
Then there are the players who are free agents in the next few seasons who the Phillies can sign for considerably cheaper than Trout, and fill more glaring needs.
Paul Goldschmidt, Chris Sale, Gerrit Cole, Xander Bogaerts, Madison Bumgarner, J.D. Martinez (if he opts out), and Marcell Ozuna after the 2019 season.
Mookie Betts, George Springer, Jackie Bradley Jr, Jacob deGrom, and Trevor Bauer in 2020.
Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Noah Syndergaard, and Corey Kluber in 2021.
In the two seasons after that, you could be looking at Aaron Judge, Jose Ramirez, and Walker Buehler becoming free agents.
The point is, Trout was not the end-all/be-all of the Phillies’ free agent options moving forward. Yes, seeing him in red pinstripes would have been a thrill, and he is easily the best player in the game right now. But all of the above players can fill significant gaps on this roster and bring the Phillies closer to World Series contention, while coming at a much cheaper price than Trout just signed for.
So put away that sadness and anger over this signing. After all, Trout was not the only free agent that Harper was going to try and recruit here.
Photo: For The Win (via Twitter)
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Categorized:Phillies