Last winter, former Royals farmhand Matt Strahm was a free agent coming off a solid season with the Red Sox where he had a 3.83 ERA in 50 relief appearances. The lefty made 16 starts in 2019 with the Padres, but had battled injuries since then, settling into a reliever role.
But as he approached free agency, he made it known he wanted a chance to start again. The Phillies offered him a two-year, $15 million deal that one executive said “destroyed the market.” But the Phillies weren’t signing him to be strictly a reliever, the deal was in-between what he would get as a reliever and what he might expect as a starter.