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…