There is no one correct way to build a successful Major League Baseball team, but there is some level of consensus on how not to do it.
MLB’s lack of salary cap makes constructing a roster primarily through free agency possible, but in practice, teams whose cores were bought on the free-agent market are virtually non-existent.
Loading up with expensive players limits flexibility, free agents tend to become available at an age where the aging curve saps them of their effectiveness, and the winner’s curse ensures good value is hard to come by.
As a result, free agency is generally seen as an avenue for supplementing a team rather than establishing its foundation.
The 2022 National League pennant-winning Philadelphia Phillies haven’t subscribed to any of this accepted wisdom in recent years.
After a 2018 season that saw them go 80-82, they made Bryce Harper their franchise centrepiece by handing him a 13-year contract worth $330 million — the biggest deal in baseball history at the time.
Harper wasn’t meant to supplement an existing core of youngsters. Not one player under 24 got 150 plate appearances for the team that year. Aaron Nola was extremely promising, and there was some belief in the trio of Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin, and Nick Pivetta in the rotation, but this wasn’t a team that needed one more piece.
Since signing with the Phillies, Harper has hit .282/.394/.546, produced 14.8 fWAR, won the 2021 MVP, been the best hitter in the 2022 playoffs by OPS (1.351) and hit one of the most iconic home runs in franchise history.
FanGraphs estimates his on-field value to the team at $118.6 million already, and that doesn’t include his playoff contributions or any off-field revenue his presence generates. Unless he falls off a cliff in the very near future, the Phillies are likely to get their money’s worth.
The 2022 playoff’s best pitcher — Zach Wheeler — was the club’s next big purchase after Harper’s first season with the team. Since they signed him away from the New York Mets, their NL East rival, Wheeler’s 13.3 fWAR is second in the majors among pitchers.
FanGraphs pegs his on-field value in the last three regular seasons at $106.1 million — an impressive number considering he signed a five-year deal worth $118 million. In these playoffs, he’s allowed just five runs in four starts and conceded only 13 base runners in 25.1 innings.
Philadelphia finding its top hitter and pitcher in free agency is a rare feat. Doing it in consecutive off-seasons is mind-boggling. That pair is at the centre of this team’s darkhorse playoff run, but not the only important free agents on the squad.
Although the Phillies were quiet before the 2021 season outside of extending J.T. Realmuto, once again they plucked another foundational player from the free agent market last offseason in the form of Kyle Schwarber.
Schwarber just produced an All-Star season that saw him lead the NL in home runs (46) and he serves as an unorthodox table setter for this powerful lineup. His OBP (.375) and OPS (.832) rank second to only Harper on the team during this playoff run.
Of course, it hasn’t exclusively been a string of hits in the free agent market.
Slugger Nick Castellanos produced a 94 wRC+ during the regular season and a 60 mark during the playoffs. His infamous work with the glove has rendered his contributions to the Phillies below replacement level.
The team also spent $16 million on Corey Knebel and Jeurys Familia to shore up its bullpen last offseason, only to see Knebel get injured in August and Familia pitch poorly enough to warrant an early-August release.
Philadelphia doesn’t have a magic formula for navigating the treacherous waters of free agency far better than its opposition. What it does have is a willingness to leverage its financial weight to build its roster, even when its competitive window isn’t open in an obvious way.
The Phillies did not wait to develop the perfect core and see attendance rise with slowly building success to dive in and start supplementing its up-and-coming roster. They saw opportunities to grab star players they could build around in free agency and seized them.
Nola is the team’s sole homegrown star, and the only position players in the lineup drafted by Philadelphia — Rhys Hoskins, Alex Bohm and Bryson Stott — are complementary players who combined for a 103 wRC+ this season. Hoskins is a well-known name due to his power, but he’s never topped 2.4 fWAR in a season.
To be clear, it isn’t wise to hold up an 87-75 club as the model for how to shape a franchise due to one strong playoff run. The 2022 Phillies don’t show us how things should be done, but they do provide insight into how they can be done.
Not every roster construction has to be based on the Chicago Cubs or Houston Astros’ efforts in the run-up to their 2016 and 2017 titles. Shopping aggressively in free agency doesn’t have to be a fool’s errand, especially if you are willing to shoot for the stars.
For all the Phillies’ flaws, there’s no doubt that they have.
