Astros, Phillies took different approaches to building World Series roster

The Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies will open the World Series on Friday, the culmination of a long process of roster-building for both clubs

In 2016, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on their way to a fourth straight division title, went looking for bullpen help and settled on Josh Fields, a right-hander with a 6.89 ERA for Houston who had been demoted to the minors. Fields pitched well with the Dodgers, having a 2.79 ERA in 22 games and not surrendering a run over four appearances that postseason.

But what the Dodgers gave up in that trade continues to have ramifications across the league more than six years later. The Astros received in return a 19-year-old, 6-foot-4, 190-pound prospect whom the Dodgers had just signed out of Cuba less than two months earlier. He had yet to play a professional game in the United States. His name was Yordan Alvarez.

Alvarez has now grown into a 225-pound man and one of the most feared sluggers in the Major Leagues. With his walk-off home run in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, Alvarez is a key part of why the Astros are now competing in the World Series for the fourth time in six years. Now 25, Alvarez will play in the Fall Classic for the third time in his four seasons in the big leagues.

He serves as a stark reminder of how the Astros conduct business: outsmart the opposition, find value that other teams don’t and develop your prospects into reliable Major Leaguers. How they acquired third baseman Alex Bregman, who has never failed to make it at least to the ALCS in his six seasons, is indicative of how the Astros organization never overlooks anything.

It started a year earlier. The Astros drafted Brady Aiken, a fireball-throwing left-hander from a Southern California high school, first overall in the 2014 draft. He traveled to Houston soon after the draft to sign his rookie contract. But he left empty-handed.

A post-draft MRI revealed that Aiken had a damaged UCL in his elbow that would likely require Tommy John surgery. And here is where the ingenuity of the Astros front office kicked in. An obscure rule stipulates that a team is entitled to compensation if they offer at least 40 percent of a pick’s slot value due to medical concerns. The Astros final offer to Aiken was $3.1 million, exactly 40 percent of the first-overall slot value.

Aiken became the first No. 1 pick not to sign in more than 30 years, while the Astros received the No. 2 selection in the following year’s draft. They used it to take Bregman out of LSU. Three picks later, they added Kyle Tucker. Bregman and Tucker will be on the field Friday to begin the World Series.

The Phillies opened the bank for star players

Their opponent will be the Philadelphia Phillies, who have taken a vastly different approach to reach this stage. The Phillies are in their first World Series in 13 years primarily because of owner John Middleton’s deep pockets.

It started in the 2019 offseason, when the Phillies traded for Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto. But that was just a prelude to a deal that would change the course of the franchise. On Feb. 28, the Phillies signed free agent Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract, the biggest deal in MLB history at the time.

The signing of Harper would be followed by Zack Wheeler (five years, $118 million). In 2020, Dave Dombrowski, who had guided four teams to the World Series over his career, took over as president of baseball operations. One of his first moves was to sign Realmuto to a five-year, $115.5 million contract. He added left-handed slugger Kyle Schwarber on a four-year, $79 million deal soon after the lockout ended in March.

The Phillies spent nearly $650 million on those four contracts alone. In 2018, they were 24th in payroll and behind teams such as the Royals and Reds. The Phillies are now fourth with a payroll of $255 million.

The Astros are no small-market team, but General Manager James Click has been content to let potentially big contracts leave town and replace them with homegrown talent, all without missing a beat. George Springer left for Toronto in 2020; the Astros replaced him with Chas McCormick, a 21st-round pick out of Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Carlos Correa signs with the Twins? In steps rookie Jeremy Pena, whose two home runs in the ALCS sweep of the Yankees earned him series MVP honors.

When the World Series begins on Friday at Minute Maid Park, seven of the Astros’ eight position players will take the field having never played for another organization. Their top six in Wins Above Replacement among position players this season were all homegrown players (including Alvarez, who never played for the Dodgers organization). By contrast, of the Phillies’ top-five in WAR among position players, just Rhys Hoskins began his career there.

The two franchises have taken two wildly divergent paths to get to this point. The Astros are a burgeoning dynasty, while the Phillies hadn’t made the postseason in 11 years. But those paths both led to Minute Maid Park on Friday night.

There is more than two way to build a championship-contending baseball team. The Astros and Phillies will both try to show their approach is the best one.