Joe Girardi isn’t worried about managing the Philadelphia Phillies without a contract extension.
Girardi signed a three-year deal in 2019 with a team option for 2023. The club has not taken the option and will likely wait to make that decision.
“It doesn’t make my job any harder,” Girardi said Sunday. “I’m going to do the same job no matter what. I’ve never been extended for a season before, so it’s something I’m used to. you play it Just like players, coaches have to perform. It’s a production-based business, so you have to act.”
Girardi is 110-112 in two seasons with the Phillies. He guided the Yankees to a World Series victory over Philadelphia in 2009, and went 910-710 in 10 seasons in New York from 2008-17.
The Phillies went 82-80 last season, their first winning record since 2011, but extended their postseason drought to the NL’s worst 10 years. They went 1-7 in their last eight games to finish 28-32 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Just one more win would have given them a wild card spot.
“The constant is my wife, Kim, and the kids,” Girardi said of the uncertainty about his future. “This is how you deal with it. You are going to move. You will live in different apartments. You get used to it.”
If Girardi can get Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler and the Phillies to October baseball in a competitive NL East, he’ll stick around to wear those red pinstripes for at least another year.
But the Phillies have a lot of work to do.
They opened a shortened spring training that was still looking for two starting outfielders and more depth in the bullpen. They need a leadoff hitter and prefer another guy to hit in the middle to help protect Harper, the reigning NL MVP.
Chairman Dave Dombrowski said he has talked to every team about potential trades and has discussed several free agents. He indicated that he is free to spend freely, although he did not specify the team’s budget for competitive reasons. The Phillies’ payroll has exceeded $200 million each of the last three seasons.
“We have a property that is absolutely fantastic,” Dombrowski said. “They want to win. They are very understanding. … I don’t want to lean my hand on what we’re going to do. I don’t feel restricted at all.”
Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the competitive balance tax threshold was raised by $34 million over five years, up from a $21 million increase in the 2017-21 agreement and an $11 million increase from 2011-16.
The Phillies will have a shortstop contest between veteran Didi Gregorius and Bryson Stott, the 14th pick in the 2019 amateur draft. Gregorius batted .209 with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs with a .270 on-base percentage for the year. last.
“We’re going to look at both of them,” Girardi said. “Didi has a track record and she has a chance to bounce back and have a great year because I’ve seen her do it. Bryson Stott, let’s take a look at her. She had an amazing year last year and continued in the fall league and she seems to be in a good place and it will be an evaluation.”
The starting rotation appears to be made up of Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Kyle Gibson Zach Eflin and Ranger Suarez. Wheeler is behind because he pitched 213 1/3 innings last year. Dombrowski said he could be ready to start first in the rotation. Suarez hasn’t arrived yet because he is waiting for a passport. Eflin, who finished last season on the disabled list, has been throwing off the mound and could be ready to start the season.
The Phillies beefed up the bullpen by signing closer Corey Knebel before the lockout. The team has agreed to a deal with right-hander Jeurys Familia, who went 9-4 with a 3.94 ERA in 65 appearances last season with the Mets. Familia saved an MLB-best 51 games in 2016, but has a combined 25 saves in the last five seasons.
