The Phillies have a lot of room to spend money:

The Phillies have just $68.9 million on the books in 2019, according to salary information obtained by USA TODAY Sports. That figure drops to $50.68 million in 2020 and plummets to $15.1 million in 2021.

“It’s exciting to contemplate what we may be able to do this off-season,’’ Middleton said. “We know the free agent class this year is really, really good.’’

The Phillies had a good season but faded near the end. They have some players who get on base, but only Rhys Hoskins and Maikel Franco provided power. Scott Kingery posted a dud of a rookie season, but he has a cheap contract and should be able to be traded if the Phillies sign Manny Machado. Note that all the Phillies regulars last year except Carlos Santana were in their early primes or younger, and that would not change if they sign both Machado and Bryce Harper. This is in fact, the perfect time to sign free agents for the team. They’ve allowed them to mature, they still have holes, and the FAs are the right fit. We shall see how high Philadelphia is willing to bid.