Overview
- Dave Dombrowski said he spoke at length with Bryce Harper and described the conversation as positive after weeks of external trade chatter.
- The club views Harper as a first baseman at this time, with no plans to move him back to the outfield.
- Dombrowski signaled the Phillies intend to move on from Nick Castellanos, framing a change of scenery as possible following a steep performance decline and a public feud with manager Rob Thomson.
- Re-signing free agents Kyle Schwarber, J. T. Realmuto and Ranger Suárez is on the agenda, with Schwarber and Realmuto seen as top priorities as the team also addresses needs at catcher, DH and in the outfield.
- The Inquirer raised a potential bad-contract swap scenario involving St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado, and Cardinals chief Chaim Bloom said Arenado is more open than before to changing teams.