Philadelphia Phillies Target Predicted To Land Second-Biggest Deal in MLB History

The Philadelphia Phillies MLB free agency target is expected to get paid with the best of them.

Oct 29, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after a strikeout against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning during game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

At this point, all everybody can do is trust the Philadelphia Phillies front office when they say they're willing to spend money in the offseason. Those words were spoken again earlier in the week, a promising sign for the Phillies as they look to improve their roster this winter. 

Just because they plan on furthering their payroll doesn't mean they need to add a guy like Juan Soto. However, after coming out and saying they're willing to do as such already, there's a good chance Philadelphia might be looking to up their payroll by a significant amount.

If that's the case, the latest prediction from Tim Britton of The Athletic would be an excellent one for Phillies fans.

Britton predicted the contracts for the top 40 free agents on the market, including Soto. He named Philadelphia among the best fits for his services and added that he's expected to get $611 million over 13 seasons. 

"This year, Soto combines Ohtani’s all-world offense with Yamamoto’s youth; he’s the first star position player to hit free agency going into his age-26 season since Bryce Harper and Manny Machado six years ago. It's really not since Alex Rodriguez in 2001 that a free agent has hit the open market this young and this accomplished. And it helps that Soto is coming off the best season of his career and a remarkable postseason that showcased all he can do in the batter’s box. The proposed deals will likely be similar to how Ohtani’s deal with Los Angeles was valued in present-day dollars, at 10 years and roughly $440 million. The question is less whether Soto reaches $500 million than whether he pushes it to $600 million."

The more years on Soto's contract, the better. Either way, the Phillies would have to make a massive financial commitment for his services, but if they could get that contract to about 15 years, that'd be perfect.

It'll be interesting to see how the rest of that plays out, but most contract predictions have him getting over $600 million. Some have even suggested that he could be looking at just 10 seasons for that type of money, effectively taking out most teams in Major League Baseball.

For Philadelphia, it's uncertain if that would take them out of the picture.

If they're looking to fix their lineup issues regarding their swing-and-miss problems throughout 2024, there aren't many better hitters to do that with than Soto.