It’s hard to say what 2021 will hold for the Phillies in a loaded National League East, but the team’s chances of remaining competitive have dramatically improved in recent days.

A day after the team officially announced a five-year extension with catcher J.T. Realmuto, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reports Didi Gregorius will return on a two-year deal.

Ken Rosenthal says the deal is worth a total of $28 million.

Given the Phillies declined to extend Gregorius an $18.9 million qualifying offer earlier this offseason, they’re saving some money on the AAV, but they’re in for an added year with the 30-year-old shortstop. He will turn 31 next month.

Some quick thoughts:

  • The Phillies are putting forth an adequate effort to win this season. The same could not be said if both Realmuto and Gregorius were to walk away without adequate replacements. While I don’t get the sense the Phillies are in “win at all costs” mode, the deals signal that the team doesn’t intend to take a step back and punt on 2021.
  • The Gregorius deal solidifies what has been a fairly aggressive offseason in the free agent market for the Phillies, at least compared to how other teams have navigated an uncertain winter. You can fault the Phillies for a lot, but calling them cheap or questioning their financial commitment — at least in terms on roster construction — would be unfair.
  • If nothing else, these recent moves will appease a fan base that has spent the last few months pessimistic about both the franchise’s overall direction and its ability to hammer out new deals with two of its most productive players.
  • That being said, the Phillies were a 28-32 team a season ago. While both Gregorius and Realmuto had good seasons, each was a prominent player on that underachiever. The Phillies still have work to do if they want to end the game’s second-longest current postseason drought. From this perspective, another quality reliever and perhaps a backend starting pitcher would greatly enhance their chances.
  • I’m not entirely sure what this move means for Jean Segura and Scott Kingery. Is Segura playing second? Is Kingery back to bouncing all over the diamond again? Does Alec Bohm move over to first, leaving a vacancy at third base should Rhys Hoskins suffer a setback from his rehab following October elbow surgery? Or, does one player become a potential trade option? Remember, Segura has a no-trade clause. We’ll see. What I do know is that the Phillies couldn’t sell themselves as a competitor with Segura as the everyday shortstop. The defense would have been a killer.

At the very least, the Phillies now have a roster capable of keeping things competitive enough that Dave Dombrowski’s front office should have some interesting decisions to make around this summer’s trade deadline.