The Phillies are in line to have money to spend this winter, and that could put Dave Dombrowski in attack mode. With some salary coming off the books, Philadelphia has a chance to be aggressive as it looks to reshape the roster around what manager Don Mattingly wants: hitters who work counts, take pitches and keep the line moving.
That’s part of why the outfield feels like an obvious spot for help. It’s also why the situations involving Alec Bohm and Luis Arraez matter, with both set to hit free agency. But the most eyebrow-raising twist in the discussion came from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, who named the Phillies as a possible suitor for the biggest prize on the market: Tarik Skubal.
Feinsand floated a scenario in which Philadelphia could use its starting-pitching depth as trade currency to free up room elsewhere and then make a run at the top of the rotation with Skubal. “Dave Dombrowski has never been shy about spending in free agency, so the Phillies are at least a dark horse candidate to make a play for Skubal. Zack Wheeler has one year remaining on his contract, and given the depth of Philadelphia’s rotation, the club could trade either Cristopher Sánchez or Jesús Luzardo to fill other holes if it added Skubal to the top of the rotation,” Feinsand wrote.
It’s an idea that makes some sense on paper. The rotation is the clearest strength on the roster, so moving from that area to patch other holes is at least a logical thought exercise. Free-agent bats are thin, and the farm system doesn’t offer much help if Philadelphia wants to dip into it for a trade.
But the move would also come with a lot of baggage. To chase Skubal, the Phillies would be tying up what could be a record amount of money in a pitcher, while also potentially sending out one of Cristopher Sánchez or Jesús Luzardo. With the future of a potential salary cap unclear, that kind of bet would be a huge one.
Skubal, a two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, would improve any team. That said, Philadelphia already has Wheeler, Sánchez and Luzardo at the front of its rotation, and Andrew Painter showed promise after being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
That’s why the more practical move may be to use resources elsewhere. The Phillies do not appear to be one Skubal-caliber arm away from being complete, and their biggest needs are still in the lineup. Even with the appeal of adding an elite starter, the combination of his age - he turns 30 in a few weeks - and his history of three procedures on his left arm makes the risk harder to justify.
For Philadelphia, the case for spending is real. The case for spending that heavily on Skubal, though, is much tougher to make.
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One of the biggest questions is whether Los Angeles will dive into the market for Tarik Skubal, the top free-agent pitcher who could land a record-breaking deal. The Dodgers already have a strong rotation and a lineup that is mostly secured, so any major move would come with a clear cost-benefit calculation rather than a simple need-based chase. Even with a roster that looks mostly intact, there are still a few potential moves under consideration, and this winter could shape how the next title push takes form. [Read more 🡒]