Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies' dollar hot dog night promotion is over, as reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press.

A combination of last year's food fight and logistical nightmares in the concourses led to the decision.

"It wasn't just the throwing," said John Weber, senior vice president, Phillies ticket operations and projects. "It's the concourse, the crowds of everybody being at the same X amount of stands. But obviously, you know, the throwing was a little bit of a tipping point."

Instead of consuming delicious dollar dogs, some fans decided to test their arms during the Phillies' 8-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on April 11, 2023. Hot dogs went flying in the stands and even onto the field. Naturally, some fans were ejected.

The Phillies will still be holding hot dog promotions, though, holding a pair of two-for-one nights. Fans attending the April 2 game against the Cincinnati Reds or the April 16 matchup versus the Colorado Rockies will get a free hot dog if they buy one first.

However, it's the end of an era in Philadelphia, as a tradition that reaches back 27 years is now over.

Phils fans can take solace in the fact that their team looks like a World Series title contender once again, though, as they get ready for a season that begins March 28 at home versus the Atlanta Braves.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Zack Wheeler reportedly have a mutual interest in extending the starting pitcher's contract, per the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

"The Phillies are hoping to extend 33-year-old ace Zack Wheeler's contract beyond 2024," Heyman wrote. "Both sides are believed to have a keen interest in working it out. Philly is good about taking care of its best people."

Wheeler is entering the final season of his five-year, $118 million contract in 2024 and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 should the sides not reach an extension.

Last season, Wheeler recorded a 3.61 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, notching 212 strikeouts in 32 starts.

Wheeler was pivotal for the Phillies in the 2023 postseason, posting a 1.95 ERA en route to an NLCS appearance. The veteran has notched a 2.42 career playoff ERA, which is good for the sixth-best among pitchers with 10 or more starts.

Earlier this week at spring training, Philadelphia's president of operations Dave Dombrowski expressed his interest in extending Wheeler to a long-term deal.

"Zack would not mislead you. Of course, we've talked," Dombrowski said. "It is a priority. We would love to get that deal done."

The Phillies have a recent history of splashing big money on star players—they signed Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million deal in 2019 and Trea Turner to an 11-year, $300 million pact ahead of last season. Now, Philadelphia will be looking to sign Wheeler for the long haul and keep together the core that has led the team to a pair of successful seasons.

The Philadelphia Phillies were prepared to pony up for Japanese starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto before he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the Phillies "offered more money than any team," including the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers landed the right-hander with a 12-year, $325 million deal.

Lauber explained how it was a two-horse race for Yamamoto between the Dodgers and New York Yankees. While the Phillies made their pitch during a Dec. 14 meeting, Yamamoto declined to make a personal visit to Philadelphia days later after having already traveled to New York City.

That left the Phillies in a position where they had to make Yamamoto an offer that he couldn't refuse if they were serious about signing him.

Principal owner John Middleton told Lauber he didn't regret making the attempt.

"If I had to do it all over again, I'd still do what we did because I think you have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and say, 'You know what? I tried,'" he said. "It's kind of easy in that situation to say, 'We'll just stay home and not even make an effort, or we'll make a token effort because we're probably going to wind up losing him.' I'm not built that way. If he's really good, you make the effort because you never know when you'll change somebody's mind."

Philadelphia already inked Aaron Nola to a new deal weeks before its pursuit of Yamamoto, and his return eliminated the need for another marquee addition to the rotation. Philly is running it back with a group that ranked fifth in xFIP (4.02), ninth in strikeout rate (9.07 per nine innings) and seventh in walk rate (2.93).

Still, the opportunity to sign a pitcher as good as Yamamoto in the prime of his career doesn't come along often.

And to Middleton's point, simply making a good-faith effort is often all a fanbase asks of ownership. Phillies fans will have known the Yankees and Dodgers were the strongest contenders for Yamamoto, so they'll likely be content to know Middleton was prepared to match or perhaps exceed what Los Angeles and New York was offering.

Bryce Harper has eight more years on his current contract, but he's already looking for the Philadelphia Phillies to show more commitment.

Harper told reporters he's seeking a new deal that will take him past his 40th birthday. His current contract is slated to keep him in Philadelphia through his age-38 season.

"I want to be here for a long time and understand playing into my 40s, that's the biggest thing for me," Harper said Sunday. "So I wanted to get that done."

Harper has spent the last five seasons in Philadelphia, already emerging as one of the most beloved players in franchise history. He hit .293/.401/.499 with 21 home runs and 72 runs batted in last season despite playing while still recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The elbow surgery resulted in Harper moving to first base full time, which will continue moving forward.

"We had a pretty good conversation, me and Dombo, we sat down and he said this would be great for our organization, and I said, OK," Harper said of the move. "I wanted them to know that I was on board with anything that they wanted to do. I said if you want me in right field, I'll play right. If you want me at first, I'll play first base, and I think as a collective they said first base is where we want you, and I said, OK, I'm going to do anything I can to be there."

Harper had already been declining as an outfielder, so the move to first makes sense. He had not posted a positive defensive WAR since his first year with the Phillies. While there will be a clear adjustment period—Harper played just 36 games at first last season and had a defensive WAR of -0.9—few teams expect their first basemen to be stalwarts.

As long as Harper continues to produce at an elite level offensively and finds some passability at first base, he'll be fine.

The idea of extending a contract with eight years remaining is a little unheard of. Harper's injury history across his career made giving him a 13-year contract a risk to begin with. Adding to that deal less than halfway in seems like a questionable business decision.

Harper acknowledged there are more pressing contracts on the roster that need to be addressed—particularly starting pitcher Zack Wheeler.

"I understand there's other guys to take care of, right? Understanding that Wheels is a big one for us right now," Harper said. "Contract negotiations can happen throughout the season and things like that. So, we'll see what Scott and Dave can come up."

Wheeler is heading into the final year of his contract. Trea Turner is the only player on the Phillies roster whose deal lasts longer than Harper's current one.

There isn't much leverage from Harper's side of things in this scenario, so any extension offered by the Phillies would be merely an act of goodwill. Don't be surprised to see them wait it out until Harper gets a full year at first to see where they're at, though.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler said he and the team are in contract negotiations regarding an extension.

"Hopefully it does," Wheeler told reporters of the deal happening. "I love it here. We're happy here."

Wheeler will make $23.5 million this season in the final year of his contract. He spent the previous four seasons with the Phillies after signing a five-year, $118 million contract in free agency.

The 33-year-old played his first five seasons with the New York Mets.

The 2023 season was Wheeler's worst in Philadelphia but still resulted in him finishing sixth in the NL Cy Young race. He went 13-6 with a 3.61 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, striking out 212 batters in 192 innings pitched.

Wheeler, a 2009 first-round pick who was inconsistent early in his career, said he was able to turn around his career thanks to improving his command after 2015 Tommy John surgery.

"I think there's a few different things," Wheeler told reporters. "Probably first and foremost, is being consistent mechanically. I changed my arm path when I came back from Tommy John surgery [in March of 2015]. It took me a while — just because you've thrown for so long a certain way — to really get ahold of it and make it work every single pitch.

"Once I did that, my command got a lot better, night and day. That definitely helped, because I always had the velo, just didn't have the best command consistently."

The Phillies have not been shy about retaining their talent, inking Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract this offseason.

Free-agent first baseman Rhys Hoskins has agreed to a two-year, $34 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal includes a player opt-out after this upcoming season.

Hoskins has played all six of his MLB seasons (2017-2022) with the Philadelphia Phillies. He missed the entire 2023 campaign with a torn ACL suffered while attempting to field a ground ball during a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers on March 23.

Hoskins' prodigious power has been beneficial to the Phillies over the course of his career. The 30-year-old has posted an .846 OPS with 148 home runs and 405 RBI since debuting in 2017. During the Phillies' 2022 National League-winning season, Hoskins smacked 30 home runs alongside 79 RBI and a .794 OPS.

He saved his best work for the National League Championship Series, in which he put up four home runs and seven RBI in a five-game win over the San Diego Padres.

Before the 2023 season, Hoskins signed a one-year, $12 million contract to avoid salary arbitration. This offseason marked the first time he was eligible for free agency.

Hoskins' time in Philadelphia proved to be a success, but it's now over as the 2022 NLCS hero moves onto the Brewers.

The Philadelphia Phillies will not pursue free agent starting pitchers Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, per The Athletic's Matt Gelb.

As the Phillies continue looking to add depth to the starting rotation, Snell and Montgomery won't be on their radar, Gelb says, "barring an unforeseen market collapse."

Last season for the San Diego Padres, Snell started in 32 games and notched a 14-9 record, picking up 234 strikeouts with a 2.25 ERA in 180 innings pitched. Montgomery, who spent last season with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers, had a 10-11 record with a 3.20 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 188.2 innings pitched.

While signing either Snell or Montgomery would help the Phillies tremendously in adding depth to the rotation, Philadelphia already spent $172 million to retain starting pitcher Aaron Nola, giving them less flexibility to sign a new arm.

The Phillies are coming off a 90-72 season that saw them fall just short of reaching a second straight World Series. While they would like to add an arm or two to the rotation this offseason, their starters guided them well last season, posting an MLB-best 17.7 WAR.

The Phillies will have return starters Zach Wheeler, Nola, Ranger Suárez, Taijuan Walker and Christopher Sánchez, giving them some familiar faces on the mound next season.

According to Gelb, the Phillies could hold off on adding a new pitcher until February. Gelb also said Philadelphia is testing out different ideas, like adding a free-agent pitcher in a role that would include both starting a relieving, but the Phillies haven't managed to add a swingman pitcher just yet.

The Phillies could use some depth in their rotation, but if not, they'll count on the talented returners from last season.

The Philadelphia Phillies may have missed out on the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes but the next course of action for the ball club is crystal clear.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported that extending starting pitcher Zack Wheeler is the team's top priority and that it was already a major focus even during the bidding for Yamamoto.

"Besides relatively modest upgrades, sources said the No. 1 priority is signing ace Zack Wheeler to a contract extension," Zolecki wrote. "It is something they always planned to pursue, even if they got lucky enough to sign Yamamoto."

Wheeler is entering the final year of his current contract and would hit unrestricted free agency if not extended. He's set to take home $23.5 million in 2024 and is finishing up a five-year, $118 million contract that he signed in 2019.

He was considered to be a risky signing back then after an injury-filled tenure with the New York Mets but his time with the Phillies has been well worth it. He has a 43-25 record with a 3.06 ERA during his four seasons in Philadelphia and was the runner-up for the 2022 NL Cy Young Award.

The 33-year-old went 13-6 with a 3.61 ERA in 2023 and helped lead the Phillies to the NLCS. Securing his long-term future with the team seems like a smart move for the team as they look to keep pace with the strong arms within the NL East.