Phillies Surprisingly Named Suitor for Former Cy Young Winner

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to be in a position to spend some money and upgrade their roster.

With some salary coming off the books, President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski can be aggressive in seeking out players who fit the mold of what manager Don Mattingly is looking for on the team.

What the team accomplished in August is what he wants to see more of. Players who are willing to take some pitches and pass the baton to the next guy in the lineup. The outfield can certainly use an upgrade, and they have to figure things out with Alec Bohm and Luis Arraez both hitting free agency.

However, in a surprising turn of events, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com has listed the Phillies among the suitors for the top free agent available this offseason: starting pitcher Tarik Skubal. He suggests that Philadelphia could look to trade away the starting pitchers they already have to upgrade elsewhere on the roster and then spend money on Skubal.

Phillies make no sense as Tarik Skubal suitor

“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.

The starting rotation is the strength of the team right now. Dealing from a strength to upgrade the rest of the roster, on the surface, does make a lot of sense. The options to upgrade the lineup are scarce in free agency, and their farm system doesn’t provide much value to dip into and make a trade to acquire a bat.

However, that is a lot of moving parts to commit what could be a record amount of money to a free agent pitcher. With the uncertainty of what the future holds when it comes to a potential salary cap, the Phillies would be taking an unnecessarily massive risk trading away Cristopher Sanchez or Jesus Luzardo to sign Skubal.

The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner would be a massive addition to any team, but acquiring front-line starting pitching isn’t anywhere near the top of the team’s to-do list. Sanchez, Luzardo and Zack Wheeler are more than enough at the top of the rotation, while Andrew Painter showed a lot of promise after he was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Adding starting pitching depth would certainly make a lot of sense, but they are better off putting most of their resources toward areas of the lineup that need an upgrade.

Skubal is as good as it gets, but there are some concerns after he has undergone three procedures on his left arm already. If Philadelphia were a Skubal-caliber player away from becoming a contender, it would make sense to pursue him.

Alas, that isn’t the case. They have more pressing needs, and committing that kind of long-term money to a pitcher who turns 30 in a few weeks is not the right move to make.

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