For the first time since the Philadelphia Phillies fired former manager Gabe Kapler last October, club president Andy MacPhail spoke to the collective media Friday afternoon in Clearwater.
The topic at the forefront of everyone’s mind? The $208 million luxury tax threshold that the Phillies are close to exceeding.
MacPhail, who is entering his fifth season in his current role, says that while the Phillies may very well end up exceeding the luxury tax threshold at some point in 2020, it’s not something that they want to make a habit of.
“Speaking for the Phillies and their ownership, we’re not reluctant to go over it,” MacPhail told the assembled media Friday.