Apr 10, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski before game against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Eric Hartline
ESPN's Buster Olney made a bold prediction regarding the Phillies in a recent radio spot.
Appearing on SportsRadio 94 WIP Thursday, Olney was asked by Joe Giglio what's one thing he feels strongly predicting about the Phillies this offseason.
"They're gonna get a star," Olney said confidently. "I have no doubt. And it's interesting, when I talked with executives with other teams, one general manager put the phrase as 'World Series tilt.' Which teams right now are on a World Series tilt where their feeling is 'We gotta win the World Series or it's a bust'? The No. 1 team on that list are the Phillies. Because they were the best team in baseball for so much of 2024. It fizzled out at the end. They're in that vein. The Yankees are in that vein. The San Diego Padres are in that vein. You know, for the Dodgers and other teams, there's not as much desperation."
What would a move to add another star look like?
"So whether it's [Garrett] Crochet ... whether it's signing [Juan] Soto ... doing something ... [Alex] Bregman ... they're gonna do something big," Olney continued. "There's no doubt about it. And that's not only my feeling, but so many of the people with other teams. They just see the Phillies loading up and trying to push it across the finish line."
It should be pointed out that earlier in this interview Olney seemed to strongly indicate that he expects Steve Cohen and the New York Mets to place the highest bid for Juan Soto, which usually translates to signing a Scott Boras client.
However, the two other names he mentioned are interesting because he's previously connected them with the Phillies.
Olney said he's "heard a lot of rumblings" about the Phillies and Crochet early in the offseason, which builds on prior reporting from him. Olney and Jesse Rogers had previously reported that the Phillies were a player in trade talks with the Chicago White Sox for Crochet last summer, but ultimately weren't willing to include top pitching prospect Andrew Painter.
Phillies Reportedly Declined To Include Andrew Painter in Garrett Crochet Trade Talks @OnPattison https://t.co/fpA1HWz9md
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) September 27, 2024
It would be hard to imagine trading Painter now that he's recovered from Tommy John surgery and appears poised to play a role for the Phillies in 2025 after a successful showing in the Arizona Fall League, but maybe a deal could get completed without him. White Sox general manager Chris Getz has talked about how the team is looking for a position-player led package, and the Phillies have some intriguing prospects with SS/3B Aidan Miller, C Eduardo Tait, OF Justin Crawford and SS Starlyn Caba. By all accounts, the Phillies are willing to consider trading 3B Alec Bohm as well, although it's hard to know whether the White Sox would be interested in him or OF Brandon Marsh considering how far away from contending they are.
As for Bregman, Olney reiterated what he posted to X last week, which is that a "rival evaluator" predicted to him that the Phillies will ultimately land the star third baseman.
From @Buster_ESPN: Alex Bregman to the Phillies?
Read here: https://t.co/clRx1ilbk1 pic.twitter.com/np6VuhvELy
That would obviously be contingent on Bohm getting traded elsewhere, and the Phillies being willing to make another major financial investment in a player in his early-30s. It's unclear if signing Bregman — who is expected to get at least five guaranteed seasons and well over $120 million — would require offloading another expensive player, such as J.T. Realmuto or Nick Castellanos.
The Phillies do have Realmuto ($23.875 million), Kyle Schwarber ($20 million), José Alvarado ($9 million) and Ranger Suárez ($8.9 million arbitration projection) all coming off the books after 2025. With that said, you would assume the Phillies would have interest in re-signing some of that group, and/or spending on replacements.
In any event, Olney's opinion is an interesting one, particularly since he doesn't just throw stuff up against the wall. Having a ton of moving parts this offseason should make this an exciting winter for the Phillies, if nothing else.
