The Philadelphia Phillies just re-upped Cristopher Sánchez's contract through 2032, with a club option for 2033. It basically overrides the extension Sánchez signed less than two years ago, extending the Phillies' window of control and meaningfully increasing Sánchez's compensation. He is guaranteed $107 million over the next six years.
This is a great example of doing right by your star. Sánchez is due $3.5 million this season before the new deal starts in 2027. He inked a four-year, $47 million contract with a couple club options before 2024 — far below his market value. The new extension is still a bargain relative to Sánchez's talent, but this is essentially a raise borne out of merit, not necessity. More front offices should operate this way.
That said... there will be negative consequences down the road, more likely than not. Most teams are not the Dodgers, which means money spent in one place is money that can't be spent elsewhere. It could complicate the future for these current Phils.
Bryson Stott, 2B
I'm not going to waste your time or mine explaining why Alec Bohm will be on a different team in 2027. Bryson Stott's future, however, is a bit more interesting to speculate on. He showed notable improvement last season; the 28-year-old was productive enough at the plate (.719 OPS and 96 OPS+) to support his incredible contributions as a defender and base-runner. An even better spring has Phillies fans understandably excited for what Stott might provide this season.
Here's the rub: Stott has two more years of club control and he's not a viable extension candidate. He's not really a spring chicken anymore, either. Stott will enter free agency in his age-30 offseason. While 20-plus stolen bases and Gold Glove-caliber defense at second base is never not useful, the Phillies are going to have a hard time justifying any sort of meaningful investment — especially with Aidan Miller, Aroon Escobar and others coming up through the Minors.
José Alvarado, LHP
Especially after last season's unfortunate PED suspension, José Alvarado is on thin ice with the Phillies. He's a free agent next winter and while the Phillies could use a power lefty in the setup spot, it feels like their money will be more smartly allocated elsewhere. Such is life.
Alvarado can still touch triple digits on the regular, with a healthy strikeout rate (28.1) and groundball rate (47.3 percent) in limited 2025 exposure. He's on the wrong side of 30, though, with a tendency to get hammered when his command wavers. That's not to call Alvarado erratic, but the average exit velocity (92.7) on contact made against the southpaw last season puts him near the bottom of the barrel.
The Phillies are paying Brad Keller and probably want to pay Jhoan Durán in a perfect world, so Alvarado is a clear casualty of Philadelphia's other pitching investments.
Brad Keller, RHP
Speaking of relievers, Brad Keller inked a two-year, $22 million contract this winter after his breakout campaign in Chicago. He's an upgrade over Matt Strahm as Philly's primary setup man and the perfect late-innings complement to the aforementioned Alvarado. But he's also a free agent come in 2028, which ain't far away. And all this money being poured into the starting rotation probably hampers the likelihood of a long-term union.
Keller was outright dominant last season, with a 2.07 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 69.2 innings out of the Cubs pen. The Phillies should envision a lasting presence for Keller, even as he ages into his mid-30s. It's unclear if that is realistic, though, especially as the market for top-tier relievers continues to inflate. Other, cheaper options will arise in the years to come, as they always do. So Keller might be two-and-done as a Phil.
Bryce Harper, 1B
So... it's been an interesting offseason for Bryce Harper. He openly criticized Dave Dombrowski's "not elite" comments from last year. He almost played the hero for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, but the bullpen blew it in the final frame. In the past, he has also openly asked the Phillies for essentially the same treatment Sánchez received: a revised long-term contract that increases his salary and ensures an unbreakable long-term union.
Unfortunately for Harper, he's paid a lot more than Sánchez and he's also under club control through 2031, which is his age-38 season. So there's not exactly a ton of incentive to pay him more money for longer. If Dombrowski isn't sure Harper can return to elite form this season, just imagine what he thinks Harper looks like in his late 30s.
Harper will almost certainly retire as a Phillie, unless he wants to poke around a few more teams in his later years just to prove a point. But this Sánchez deal, ironically, almost guarantees that the contract restructure Harper has called for will never come to fruition. Moreover, Harper is technically off the books a year or two before Sánchez, which makes any second contract with the club — if Harper's production still warrants it — a bit trickier.