Phillies Soar Past Luxury Tax Threshold, Montgomery Signing Next?

With the Philadelphia Phillies already over the luxury tax, could they become more aggressive on the open market?

The Philadelphia Phillies have operated all offseason long like they were getting ready to shell out the highest payroll in team history and didn't want to add more contracts on top of that.

Despite the competitive offer they gave Yoshinobu Yamamoto that would have blown past the luxury tax, the Phillies didn't make a single major move after the Japanese phenom decided to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The front office certainly was looking for upgrades, but adding depth pieces here and there wasn't quite the same way Dave Dombrowski has operated since taking over his executive role with the team.

However, things changed when they signed Whit Merrifield to a one-year contract.

According to Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, this deal and Alex Bohm's arbitration winning salary of $4 million has now put Philadelphia past the second luxury tax threshold of $257 million with their expected $260.8 million payroll.

Maybe this changes owner John Middleton's thoughts on spending this offseason.

As the old adage goes, "give an inch, take a mile."

Except for the Phillies, it's more so that since they're already over the second threshold anyway, might as well go all in and spend for another high-profile player.

In this case, that would likely be for starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery, who is coming off his best season in the MLB and has been linked to Philadelphia multiple times this winter.

The Phillies would reportedly like to sign him to a short-term contract, something the lefty and his agent are not interested in at this point.

But after already soaring past the luxury tax threshold, why not be aggressive and get Montgomery onto the roster?

He would certainly help them compete for a World Series title, something this organization has talked about being their ultimate goal.