It's Not Enough

The World Champion Washington Nationals re-signed reliever Daniel Hudson earlier today. They gave him a 2-year, $11 million contract. He registered the final out of the 2019 World Series for the Nats. He's kind of good.

Your Philadelphia Phillies announced that (shuffling papers) that they had added Bobby Meacham and Greg Brodzinski to manager Joe Girardi's coaching staff. Yeah, that sounds about right.

The Nationals bullpen, on paper, looks imposing. They have Sean Doolittle, Will Harris, Hunter Strickland and Hudson. The Phillies haven't done squat to improve the bullpen, except for letting go of a bunch of stiffs from last season. Right now, the Phils bullpen includes Hector Neris, Adam Morgan (hurt last year), Seranthony Dominguez (hurt last year), Jose Alvarez, Victor Arano, Nick Pivetta, Ranger Suarez, and Robert Stock. So that's one middling closer, two guys with sore arms who can't realistically be counted on, and a bunch of question marks. Oh boy. Maybe they'll bring back Tommy Hunter.

Why is owner John Middleton so against exceeding the luxury tax? It's not like he can't afford it. Better players make better teams. Better teams bring in more fans. More fans means more money for Middleton. You have to spend money to make money, the old saying goes. Sure, the Phils have spent a ton of money in the last couple of years. They just haven't spent enough of it wisely enough.