MLB Insider Reveals Phillies Never Talked to Multiple Rumored Offseason Targets

The Philadelphia Phillies were connected to a number of top players this offseason, but may have never even spoke to them.

Apr 12, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) walks towards the dugout after striking out against the Athletics in the first inning at Sutter Health Park. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies were favored to be major players in free agency, but didn’t end up making any splash signings. It looks like most of the top stars were never even on the table.

MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently made a shocking revelation that the Phillies never even spoke to a handful of players that they were once considered threats to sign.

"Remember when the Philadelphia Phillies were reported to be a major player at the outset in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. They never had a single conversation about him," said Nightengale warning that agents can say whatever they want to without any real repercussions. "They didn’t talk to starter Blake Snell, third baseman Alex Bregman or [Pete] Alonso, either."

Of those players, Alonso certainly seemed like the most likely option. Reports had come out that Philadelphia star Bryce Harper could even be willing to move to the outfield if the home run champion had decided to join the team.

It would be interesting to see what the roster became with Alonso, as he has arguably played better than anyone on the Phillies so far. The 30-year-old has a .321/.431/.666 slash line with four home runs, 18 RBI and an OPS+ of 215. 

That puts him on-pace for a 43-home run, 194 RBI campaign. While that is obviously unrealistic to maintain for a whole reason, at least the RBI, it still just goes to show how much they are missing out on.

If there is any saving grace for Philadelphia fans, it is unclear how much moving Harper to one of the corner outfield spots would actually change the makeup of the team. The biggest hole on the team is in center field, which is not something that the current first baseman would be filling in for.

The other players would have been nice to have, for sure, but also never really seemed to be real targets.

The Phillies aren’t really wishing they had signed Snell right now, despite his hot start. They ended up trading for Jesus Luzardo, who has been a step above the former Cy Young to begin the year.

Luzardo has a 1.50 ERA over his first three starts with a 1.00 WHIP, 12.5 K/9 and an ERA+ of 263. He has meshed well with Philadelphia coaching as his Stuff+ ratings have jumped through the roof.

Signing Bregman would have meant trading Alec Bohm, whom the Phillies still seem to think very highly of. It might have been a smart move, though.

Bohm has posted a .150/.164/.167 slash line, while Bregman has impressed early with a .290/.342/.464 line. It just seems like there would have been too many moving parts for Philadelphia.

The Phillies were also obviously never going to touch the 15-year, $765 million deal that Soto ended up getting from the New York Mets.