The Philadelphia Phillies have been very active on the trade and free agent markets this offseason, but they are still all-in on both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. In fact, there is a belief that either player would have to take less money if they end up any place other than Philly.
After Philadelphia signed veteran reliever David Robertson to a two-year deal on Thursday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that rival teams believe the Phillies will make a bigger offer to Machado and Harper than any other club.
Now, of course, the #Phillies will be focused on Bryce Harper/Manny Machado. Rival teams believe the Phillies will make the highest offer to each of the marquee free agents.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 3, 2019
Harper is said to have already received 10-year offers, and it would be a surprise if Machado hasn’t gotten the same. We’ve already been given reason to believe the Chicago White Sox weren’t the team that made that offer, so it certainly may have been the Phillies.
There were rumblings during the offseason that the Phillies might want to sign both Machado and Harper, but that is farfetched and they may prefer one over the other.
