The latest on Soto market, Bohm trade talks as Winter Meetings near originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
It was overwhelmingly unlikely that the Phillies were going to be in the mix to sign Juan Soto given the enormous expected price tag and the handful of teams willing to make him one of the two highest-paid players ever.
Soto has met with five teams and the Phils are not one of them. He is expected to narrow his focus between the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers by the Winter Meetings, which take place from Dec. 8-12 in Dallas.
It was always difficult to envision the Phillies offering Soto a contract of $500-600 million. Soto is a transformative player a la Bryce Harper, and four of the teams most interested in him are among the richest in baseball. He would have been a perfect fit for what the Phillies are looking for, but that’s like saying, “Hey, this lineup could sure use Ted Williams.”
Beyond Soto, the top outfielders available in free agency are Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Santander, Jurickson Profar, Max Kepler and Tyler O’Neill. Hernandez and Santander were each extended a qualifying offer by their former team, meaning the team that signs them will be stripped of a high draft pick. That penalty will factor into clubs’ calculations of Hernandez’ and Santander’s free-agent worth.
Mariners a trade fit?
Alec Bohm has come up in trade conversations with the Mariners, according to the Seattle Times, which reports the M’s have also discussed Nico Hoerner with the Cubs.
Desperate for offense, the Mariners have perhaps the only rotation in baseball deeper than the Phillies’ — Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Brian Woo.
Per the Times report, the Phillies asked the Mariners for Gilbert or Kirby in a Bohm trade and were rebuffed. Understandably so, given that Gilbert and Kirby have emerged into two of the top 10 pitchers in the American League. Bohm is a strong trade piece but not worth one of those near-aces by himself.
Gilbert, 27, had a 3.23 ERA and the lowest WHIP in baseball last season (0.89). He hasn’t missed a start since 2022 and has a 3.38 ERA over that span.
Kirby, 26, is already the most consistent strike-thrower in MLB. He, too, has made every start the last two seasons with the lowest walk rate in baseball each year. Kirby has a 3.43 ERA in 89 career starts.
Their salaries make both pitchers even more attractive. Gilbert is projected to earn approximately $9 million this offseason through arbitration, then has two more years under team control, reaching free agency after 2027. Kirby is projected to earn $5 million this season and has three more years under team control, reaching free agency after 2028. The Mariners are right to ask for the world in return for either arm, they’re two of the top trade assets in baseball.
Castillo, 32 years old with $72.5 million guaranteed over the next three seasons, would make much more sense for the Mariners to trade. He could bring them back offensive piece(s) that will help while also clearing up some or all of that payroll space for a franchise that is usually closer to middle of the pack in spending.
Castillo had a down year by his standard in 2024 with a 3.64 ERA and 1.17 WHIP compared to 3.19 and 1.09 the previous two seasons. Even that lesser version of Castillo was a productive pitcher, though, a No. 3 starter at worst who soaked up 175 innings despite missing the final three weeks with a hamstring strain.
So, what about Bohm for Castillo? Could that make sense for Seattle?
It would help balance out the Mariners’ roster, pulling from their biggest strength (rotation) to address their biggest weakness (offense).
The Phillies are not specifically pursuing starting pitching and have as strong a 1-4 as any team with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez. But they’re trying to raise the ceiling of their roster, and if the best return for Bohm or any of their other trade candidates is a starting pitcher, then it could become a multi-level move. The Phillies could acquire a starter and shop Suarez, for example. He is not a player they want to trade, but he’s a free agent after 2025 who they might lose for nothing.
So, adding another starter would accomplish a few things: It would fill out the Phillies’ rotation, it would create more trade possibilities within their own roster and eventually protect them against losing or overpaying Suarez. Again, starting pitching isn’t first, second or third on the Phillies’ list of priorities, but it makes no sense to close doors at this point in the offseason.
It is also not even close to guaranteed that Bohm is traded this winter. He could very well be in uniform in Clearwater for the first day of full-squad workouts in mid-February. He’s been the subject of trade rumors not because the Phillies want to move on from him but because he has the most value of any player they’d realistically trade, is only two years away from free agency and might be one season away from having to fend off 20-year-old Aidan Miller, the Phillies’ top prospect.
