Disastrous Trade: Phillies could miss out on the signature of world star pitchers if…

The Philadelphia Phillies are in danger of missing out on signing a top relief pitcher available as a free agency this offseason.

Initially, on Thursday, fireballer Jordan Hicks signed a four-year, $44 million contract to start for San Francisco. After that, the best of the best, Josh Hader, agreed to a five-year, $95 million contract on Friday with the Houston Astros.

Shortly after the Hader announcement, Robert Stephenson’s decision to sign a three-year, $33 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels was made public. Why did Phillies supporters find Stephenson’s rumored signing so disappointing? One of the few players—let alone relievers—that the team had been officially known to be interested in this summer was the gifted right-hander.

In Stephenson, the Phillies had an opportunity to bring in one of the best relief arms in the game last season. For $11 million per year, he would have been the highest-paid player in the Phillies bullpen. As it stands, José Alvarado currently ranks at the top with a $9.02 million salary in 2024.

But it potentially would have been worth shelling out the money for a few seasons of the team’s contention window if the front office was serious about adding another late-inning weapon to the relief corps.