Ahead of the Winter Meetings beginning on Dec. 3, teams across baseball are starting to formulate their plans on how they want to attack this offseason.
Naturally, some teams will be buyers and some will be sellers. The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to add talent as they are still contenders for the World Series. Re-signing Aaron Nola was the first step to ensuring they can still compete for the championship.
There’s still some holes on the roster they’re looking to fill with them rumored to be targeting more pitching depth in the starting rotation and bullpen.
After the departure of their closer Craig Kimbrell, the Phillies likely need to add more relievers ahead of the 2024 season. Josh Hader and Jordan Hicks are seen as the two best available pieces in free agency, but it doesn’t seem likely that Philadelphia is willing to shell out record-breaking money to land Hader.
Good news for them is that Jeff Passan of ESPN is reporting that the Cleveland Guardians have made one of the best closers in baseball available for trade this offseason.
“The Cleveland Guardians are open to dealing [Emmanuel] Clase, their All-Star closer who has led the AL in saves for two consecutive years, sources told ESPN,” he wrote.
That is a major addition to the pool of players that the Phillies could go after. Everyone has a bad taste in their mouth from how the season ended in 2023 following collapses in the bullpen and with their star hitters.
Having Clase on the roster would ensure they have one of the best relief pieces available to go along with a bullpen that was much improved from 2022 to 2023.
The price tag that the elite closer comes with financially should not deter Philadelphia either. “Clase’s contract makes him even more attractive. He’s owed $2.5 million in 2024, $4.5 million in 2025, $6 million in 2026 and has $10 million club options for 2027 and 2028. Every team in baseball can afford Clase at those prices,” Passan writes.
Now, there has been no report stating that the Phillies have reached out to the Guardians about Clase’s availability, but this news from Passan gives Philadelphia another option to improve their team this offseason.
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