At this point, I don't see the Phillies making any major moves, aside from tinkering with the bench and/or bullpen a bit. In therms of getting a difference-making bat, it was basically Machado or bust in that department. In terms of closers, Hand and Familia are gone and the market for Britton is getting downright crazy with the possibility that the Orioles may get more for him than they did for Machado, according to somereports.
This seems to be a big part of the reason:
"The Braves and Phillies have been linked to several major names this summer, and Heyman says the two NL East rivals have indeed been âinvolved in most/all the big stuffâ on the trade front. According to some, however, Atlanta and Philadelphia have also seemed less likely than other contenders to move their top prospects. This jibes with recent comments from Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, who was looking to make upgrades but expressed wariness about dealing top prospects, particularly for rental players. Both the Braves and Phils are somewhat in the same boat as teams who are somewhat unexpected contenders coming out of a lengthy rebuild, and since both are looking to begin some sustained success, they arenât necessarily looking to make a big all-in push this year."
Bottom line is that it is a big seller's market this year.
