Philadelphia Phillies' Current Winter Plans May Be Benefiting Dodgers

The Philadelphia Phillies made the first big splash in this winter in free agency when they re-signed starting pitcher Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million deal. It was a good bit of change to be spent but it did nothing other than help the Phillies keep status quo. 

But that's not necessarily a bad thing, they came within one win of consecutive World Series berths.

Now, after missing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it appears Philadelphia may be content with trying to extend Zack Wheeler and no longer play in the deep end of the free agent pool. 

Dodgers Way, a FanSided blog, believes that by the Phillies remaining out of the hunt for free agents plays in the Los Angeles Dodger's favor moving forward.

"Maybe that's Dombrowski expressing the free agent market isn't all that appealing, and he'd rather spend money to shore up an in-house asset? If that's indeed the case, the could free up a lane for the Dodgers to chase Jordan Montgomery and/or Josh Hader with less competition," asserts Dodgers Way.

First, it's a sound argument. Philadelphia showed willingness to spend a large amount of money on Yamamoto, who they saw as a perfect fit for their roster. If they were to have viewed Montgomery or Hader in a similar fashion it could have spelled trouble for the Dodgers. 

Secondly, and perhaps more pompously, the fact Los Angeles has already committed a billion dollars in free agency this winter and the outlet is still writing about how the Phillies are helping the Dodgers in more high-dollar pursuits is hilarious. 

Hilariously accurate because Los Angeles almost certainly isn't done adding talent ahead of the 2024 MLB season. Maybe Philadelphia is the sport's only hope in keeping the Dodger's spending in check.