According to recent reports from baseball insiders, the Philadelphia Phillies will likely enter the remaining free agent market as players. With spring training camps well begun, it appears that many interested teams are expecting contract demands to drop, as there are still a lot of elite free agents available.The Phillies have been linked to several free agents recently, but Whit Merrifield, a versatile All-Star, is starting to garner some attention among insiders in the last week.
In light of left fielder Brandon Marsh’s recent knee injury and concerns regarding Johan Rojas’ ability to adjust to major league pitching, the Phillies have been considering their options regarding the outfield depth that is currently on the 40-man roster. Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that Merrifield’s market is beginning to heat up.
Although Morosi did not identify the five teams who are fighting for Merrifield’s services, the report’s additional information that a deal would be finalized by this weekend suggests that Merrifield’s market is expanding quickly. Which five clubs include the Phillies?
On Thursday’s episode of The Baseball Insiders, FanSided insider Robert Murray said he had heard similar rumors regarding Merrfield’s timeline.
“Everything that Jon Morosi put out today about Whit Merrifield, I have heard similar things,” Murray stated. “So it would not surprise me if a signing ended up happening at some point this week.”
He acknowledged that he is unsure which team will sign Merrifield in the end, but he did mention that the Phillies are among the teams interested in the former All-Star.
