Is LA actually in? I thought there was possibly a mystery team, and the team he just played for wouldn't fit into that category.
It is going to come down to years more than money I imagine. Listen, if I'm the Yankees or the Dodgers the pitch is simple. They can guarantee him a real, immediate shot at the World Series and an almost certain shot at the playoffs, they can offer him opt-outs with a proven history of giving extensions when they arrive and they could also say, listen, we only want to sign you for five years, but you know we'll have both the money and the talent to want to keep you around five years from now too, can the Phillies or White Sox say that? (The Phillies can, but they can't yet prove it.).
So then, as always, it comes back to the Phillies having to offer the most money. Just a question of what the figure is.
It's kind of too bad Jim Thome, despite still being a bit of a local hero, didn't actually win anything here. Because it is obviously the same pitch - "Build something. This will be your team." Obviously people rarely pass on signing the Yankees because they've already built something though.
Pazos can be optioned but it's hard to see Morgan and Alvarez both on the roster if they also sign Britton or Miller (or even Minor). Same thing with Nicasio and Hunter but I think they prefer to trade Neshek. Neshek simply can't pitch enough (though if they get Miller that would certainly help). Hunter was actually pretty good overall (and always had the good FIP). Nicasio also had pretty good peripherals last year, and a reliever coming off a bad year is often a better than a reliever coming off a good one.
I don't think Morgan is a good bet to go back to starting, he's more of a classic failed starter who's still useful in a bullpen. Not someone who needs to see batters twice (let alone three times). He was better than people realize last year, but mostly only against lefties.
