December 07, 2022
John Middleton's claim about wanting to spend "stupid money" to bring the Phillies back to contention was met with eyerolls after the 2018 season. Phils fans were taking a wait-and-see approach as the team went from the top of the league to the bottom in less than a decade.
Flash forward a few years later and Phillies ownership is making good on that decree, outspending almost everyone out there in Major League Baseball.
Per Spotrac, the Phillies are projected to have the third-highest payroll in the majors on Opening Day 2023:
Current Projected Opening Day #MLB Tax Payrolls
— Spotrac (@spotrac) December 7, 2022
1. #Mets, $300M
2. #Yankees, $261M
3. #Phillies, $241M
4. #Braves, $225M
5. #Angels, $212M
6. #Padres, $205M
7. #BlueJays, $200M
8. #Rangers, $199M
9. #Astros, $197M
10. #Dodgers, $189M
Stupid money indeed.
They're outspending every non-New York team. They're making the Dodgers look like the Pirates!
It's great to see, truly. The Phillies have had misfires stocking their pipeline of homegrown talent in the aftermath of the 2007-2011 golden era, leading to an 11-year playoff drought. If you can't develop players, go out, make trades and sign some great ones. It's exactly what the Phillies are doing.
Look at these contracts handed out in recent history:
• 2019: Bryce Harper, 13 years, $330 million
• 2020: Zach Wheeler, 5 years, $118 million
• 2021: J.T. Realmuto, 5 years, $115 million
• 2022: Nick Castellanos, 5 years, $100 million
• 2022: Kyle Schwarber, 4 years, $79 million
• 2023: Trea Turner, 11 years, $300 million
• 2023: Taijuan Walker, 4 years, $72 million
This organization has come a long way from its late-1990s, early-2000s philosophy of acting like a small-market team. Small market? This is a fervent fan base and city ready to stuff ownership's pockets with oodles of cash for playoff tickets. If you build it, they will come. With star power all over the lineup and rotation, Phillies fans are getting the treatment they most certainly deserve from the town's baseball club.
Don't play scared. Go win championships. Flags fly forever.
Follow Shamus & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @shamus_clancy | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Shamus' RSS feed to your feed reader
