3 remaining free agents the Phillies should sign, 2 to avoid
The Philadelphia Phillies made the first huge signing of the offseason, inking Aaron Nola to a seven-year deal worth $172 million. The price seemed pretty hefty at first, but after seeing how much starting pitchers are worth, the deal looks like a bargain.
Bringing Nola back was great, but Philadelphia can't be done with that move. There are more weaknesses Dave Dombrowski must address to ensure his team can get over the hump in 2024 after falling short in the postseason each of the last two years.
The Phillies mainly need to address their pitching, and have plenty of solid options to look at in free agency. Here are three they should sign, and another two they'd be better off avoiding.
5) Josh Hader is the closer the Phillies could really use
The Phillies needed more from their offense late in the NLCS but let's be real. The biggest reason the Phillies were sent home by the Diamondbacks was because of Craig Kimbrel. The former star closer blew two consecutive games that series, leading to Arizona's upset over the Phillies.
Kimbrel is in Baltimore now, and the Phillies find themselves without a closer. They have some solid relievers like Jose Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman, and even Gregory Soto who has been an All-Star closer in the past, but would really benefit from adding a superstar closer like Josh Hader.
The Phillies make a lot of sense as a Hader destination since they have a need in the back end of their bullpen and always spend a ton of money in free agency, but it's unclear as to whether they'll make the expensive commitment it'll take to sign Hader. He's reportedly trying to break the record set by Edwin Diaz for the most expensive deal for a reliever. That means they'd have to top the five-year $102 million commitment the Mets made to Diaz last offseason.
It's probably unlikely the Phillies go to that level with all of the money they have on the books, but this is a team that was reportedly in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This means they have the money to spend on a guy like Hader. With that in mind, why not go out and get arguably the best reliever in the league? Their biggest issue for years has been their bullpen, and Hader can make it go from a weakness to an obvious strength.