Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
When traditional power sources keep going out, the smart thing to do is go to the hardware store and purchase a generator.
The Philadelphia Phillies have had a power problem since those skills have eroded for marquee players like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. They have to play small ball this season by necessity and not by choice. The only place where the Phillies can generate power now exists in the international market, and the team is said to be in the lead for Dominican Republic slugger Jhailyn Ortiz, a 16-year-old with unlimited upside and someone the Phillies currently are said to covet. The Phillies have no options but to use some of the $2.5 billion — that’s with a b — TV money they got in last year’s Comcast deal to go out and sign Ortiz.
Only the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees make more TV money than the Phillies do, but both of those organizations are located in two-team markets. The Phillies are the richest team in a single market and it is high time they act like it. If the Phillies want a rapid rebuild, they will use that money wisely in terms of signing long-term projects like Ortiz and short-term spending on up-and-coming free agents, not guys who are past their primes.
First, though, the organization must close the deal on Ortiz, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound slugger who has 2007 Ryan Howard power, not 2015 Ryan Howard power. This is a player capable of duplicating Howard’s best seasons. The Phillies dabbled in the international market in the offseason, making inquiries into the availability of Cuban free agents Yasmany Tomas and Rusney Castillo. They backed away ostensibly because they were more interested in Ortiz. In early July, when the international player market opens for business again, the Phillies are expected to sign Ortiz.
Expecting to sign him and actually doing it are two separate things, though. The Phillies have the money. They must now close the deal.
Mike Gibson is a Phillies writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
