Dec 9, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Philadelphia Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly speaks with the MLB Network at the Hilton Anatole during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron
Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly recently appeared on "Baseball Is Dead" to discuss a variety of topics.
Perhaps his most interesting answer came as part of a larger response about how organizations decide what type of relief pitchers to target in free agency, and how they then proceed in trying to woo that free agent to their team.
"When you talk about specific free agents ... especially the reliever market, it feels like it moves really quickly ... and I think a lot of the teams have guys evaluated the same. And like you mentioned, they have them at that one-year pact, or maybe it's two, and I think you try and separate yourself in different ways. I think you can talk about potentially doing opt-outs. That's something that the Philadelphia Phillies don't do, so we're kind of up front with that with guys."
As Phillies Tailgate noted on X, this appears to be the first time that anyone representing the team has ever stated this policy publicly:
Here’s an interesting tidbit from Preston Mattingly in today’s @baseballisdead_ podcast. The Phillies as an organization don’t offer opt-outs in contracts.
I could be wrong, but I don’t believe that has ever been publicly stated before. https://t.co/Vt43DoBva0
If you think about it, though, none of the major contracts that the Phillies have handed out in recent years — be it Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler (x2) or Kyle Schwarber (x2) — included opt-out clauses. Evidentially, the Phillies prefer if there's a major investment being made that they know the full contract will play out, rather than having an opt-out looming over them.
Perhaps that's part of the reason why the Phillies preferred Bryce Harper over Manny Machado when both were free agents following the 2018 season. Harper signed a 13-year/$330 million deal, and against the advice of his agent Scott Boras, did not insist on an opt-out clause. Machado, meanwhile, signed a 10-year/$300 million contract with the San Diego Padres. Machado's deal included a player opt-out clause after the fifth season. Prior to his fifth campaign in San Diego, Machado indicated that he intended to exercise his opt-out clause after the season. Before the season even began, he instead had a new 11-year/$350 million deal. While Harper and Boras have signaled at times they would like a contract extension, none has materialized because Harper hasn't had the same leverage of walking away as Machado did.
Now, there are other ways to make up for a lack of player opt-outs in a contract. The Phillies gave Harper — who wanted to be settled in one place — a 13-year guarantee, with no evidence another team was willing to do that. Ditto for going to 11 years with Trea Turner, or seven with Aaron Nola. Part of the length of those deals is to lower the annual luxury tax threshold number, but you also give the player stability. So too does a full no-trade clause, which Harper, Turner and Nola received. (Wheeler didn't need one in his second deal because he had a NTC through 10-and-5 rights, which Schwarber will also gain after 2026.) The Phillies have also included club, mutual and vesting options in contracts that come with buyouts, so it's not as though they are altogether opposed to options. They just apparently don't give out player opt-outs mid-contract.
Of course, Harper could have tested their commitment to this policy after 2018. Once Machado signed, the Phillies needed Harper. Harper didn't have the type of robust market he probably should have, but if he was insistent on getting an opt-out clause after, say, five years, would that have prevented the Phillies from signing him? It's hard to imagine. And giving an opt-out clause to a player of Harper's caliber doesn't really set a precedent, because it's not like a 26-year-old future Hall of Famer regularly is available to sign as a free agent.
Another advantage the Phillies may be developing, in Mattingly's estimation, may be their ability to sell free agents on the organizational culture.
"I think one thing we do as an organization ... we have a tremendous pitching group, led by Caleb Cotham, our pitching coach," Mattingly said. "We get these guys on Zoom calls, and I kinda nerd out and talk to them and talk different things about what they like to do ... take some different tools that we have internally that we think we can help them with, and almost kinda sell them on the environment we have in Philadelphia. And I think it's a destination where players want to play."
This isn't just Mattingly saying this.
When Walker Buehler signed with the Phillies in September, he talked about how much it meant to him that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, manager Rob Thomson and pitching coach Caleb Cotham all were part of a phone call trying to woo him to to Philadelphia after he was released by the Boston Red Sox.
Reliever Brad Keller — whom the Phillies signed to a two-year/$22 million deal last Thursday — also raved about his initial interactions with Cotham Monday during an introductory Zoom session with media members.
"I heard amazing things about Caleb," Keller said. "I've played with Drew Pomeranz, who is really close with him. And he's talked about him before. We talked a good amount on Wednesday, and it was awesome to hear because he thinks very similarly to how I think about things. He brought up some ideas of things we feel like would be fun to try, like throwing sweepers to lefties, changeups to righties, things like that. That's kind of a little unorthodox, but when you get to a point where you've got to switch things up, it would be something new to try.
"I really liked how he thought about pitching. Super cool guy, young guy—I feel like really relatable. It was awesome. Our talks were great. It really helped me out to feel like I was comfortable landing here."
There may be a day where the Phillies are forced to strongly consider changing their policy on including player opt-out clauses. But doing other things well as an organization has allowed them to stick to that policy to this point.
