Another Phillies Target Comes Off Board After Deal With Milwaukee Brewers

There have been a lot of players linked to the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason, but there hasn't been a whole lot of deals getting done.

Much of that is due to the roster already being stacked with minimal changes necessary before the start of the upcoming season, not to mention their already high payroll.

Instead of chasing down the elite players on the open market, they've been searching for some depth pieces who can fit specific roles.

The Phillies were reportedly targeting two pitchers in free agency, Phil Maton and Jakob Junis, to fill out their bullpen.

Maton agreed to a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, taking him off the board.

Now, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, Junis is also no longer available after he agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers to be a starting pitcher. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports it's a one-year, $7 million deal.

Philadelphia has been in the market for pitching practically the entire winter.

They've been linked to multiple players throughout the offseason and manager Rob Thomson has mentioned he would ideally like to have more than just the five surefire starters currently in their rotation to protect themselves against injury and fatigue.

Junis figures to have fit into that mold, getting time in both the bullpen and rotation with the San Francisco Giants last year.

Perhaps that is the type of pitcher the Phillies are looking for, as they continue to navigate the remainder of this offseason.

They have still been connected to Jordan Montgomery, who would give them one of the best starting units in baseball, but that seems like a massive longshot unless his asking price comes way down.