The Philadelphia Phillies had been linked to Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai in free agency, but they never seemed to make a significant effort to land him before he signed with the Houston Astros.
Imai’s contract was a three-year, $63 million pact featuring opt outs after the first two years, a rather clever deal orchestrated by one of baseball’s best front offices.
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Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly outright said this is not something Philadelphia does during a recent appearance on the Baseball is Dead podcast.
“That’s something that the Philadelphia Phillies don’t do,” Mattingly said. “So we’re kind of up front with that with guys.”
Well, maybe it’s something the Phillies should start doing?
The Boston Red Sox employed this trick to land Alex Bregman last year. Not only did it work, but Bregman may ultimately re-sign with the Red Sox this winter, as well.
It’s obviously not ideal to hand players contracts that include opt outs, but it does benefit teams in that allows them to skimp a bit on the dollar amount.
Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski. Credit:Â Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images.
Philadelphia is clearly watching its payroll this offseason after being slapped with a fat $56 million luxury tax bill, so players like Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger are likely out of the question.
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But perhaps the Phillies would stand a better chance of bagging some of the higher-tier free agents if they added some nuance to their negotiations, much like the Astros?
Players love opt outs because it gives them a sense of security and control. When a club like Philadelphia doles out contracts that lock players in for each year, it’s certainly a bit less palatable to the player.
Maybe that would not have changed anything for the Phillies this winter. It seems like their goal all along was to just re-sign Kyle Schwarber and then make fringe additions (like Adolis Garcia) to bolster a roster that was already among the league’s best.
But it’s also important to note that Philadelphia stands to lose both Ranger Suarez and Harrison Bader in free agency, and J.T. Realmuto is no guarantee to return, either.
It stands to reason that the Phillies would have a better chance of retaining of them if they finally break protocol and start including opt outs.