MLB Trade Rumors released their annual free-agent contract and landing spots predictions Thursday, and included projections on what three members of the 2022 National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies will get on the market this winter.
Of the trio, Syndergaard is actually the highest-rated free agent, checking in at No. 21. Even though it appears Syndergaard may never get back the top-tier velocity that he had prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2020, the quartet of writers at MLBTR project that he’ll land a three-year/$36 million deal this offseason.
After spending parts of six seasons with the New York Mets, Syndergaard split 2022 with the Los Angeles Angels and Phillies. The artist once known as “Thor” went 10-10 with a 3.94 ERA, 3.83 FIP and 2.2 WAR across 134 2/3 innings, per FanGraphs.
None of the four writers polled — Steve Adams, Tim Dierkes, Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald — believe that Syndergaard will return to the Phillies.
Zach Eflin, meanwhile, is the No. 31 free agent available, and he’s projected to sign a two-year/$22 million deal this offseason by MLBTR. Some were surprised that he declined his half of the $15 million mutual option earlier this week given that he had an injury-riddled 2022 season. Evidently, the thought process in doing that wasn’t that he thought he could get more money in 2023, but more guaranteed money overall.
After the Phillies were defeated in Game 6 of the World Series in Houston, an emotional Eflin told Phillies Nation that he hoped to remain with the only team he’s ever played for at the big league level.
“There’s no other place I really want to play other than this place,” Eflin said. “It’s a dream to be able to put on that jersey every single night and go to war with these guys. So we’ll see what happens.”
But like Syndergaard, none of the writers at MLBTR believe Eflin will return to the Phillies.
Finally, Jean Segura comes in at No. 40. The Phillies declined the two-time All-Star’s $17 million club option for 2023, instead triggering a $1 million buyout. That decision by Dave Dombrowski and company was a no-brainer, even if Segura remains a very productive player. The projection at MLBTR for Segura is $18 million over two years.
Segura has spent the past four seasons with the Phillies, demonstrating tremendous bat-to-ball skills and elite arm strength at second base. Before the World Series, the 32-year-old told Phillies Nation that he hoped to finish his career with the team, but admitted to an uncertain future.
“I would love to finish my career in Philadelphia, and I don’t really think about that right now,” Segura said. “All my focus is to go into the World Series and get four more wins and hopefully get a champagne [celebration] and bring another ring to the Phillies and to the city.
“After the season, we’ll address that. If we keep moving forward, if we stay here, cool. If not, I’ll have to talk to my agents and see who wants me, what teams want Jean Segura’s services.”
Of the four writers, Franco is the only one that believes that Segura will return to the Phillies.
At this stage, Segura would seem to be a fallback option for the Phillies. There’s already been a ton of buzz connecting the Phillies to Trea Turner, with Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson and Xander Bogaerts also among a star-studded group of free-agent shortstops. Under that scenario, Bryson Stott would shift from his natural position of shortstop over to second base.
If things don’t work out with the Phillies signing a star shortstop — or they ultimately choose to spend big money elsewhere — Segura could very well return to the Phillies. However, it’s hard to imagine the Phillies guaranteeing Segura multiple years heading into his age-33 season.
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