Matt Gelb had a good article at The Athletic (with ads) about the Phillies’ pursuit of Trea Turner. In it, there was a nugget about Turner taking less money:

“Turner, according to multiple sources, left money on the table. The actual terms of the Padres’ final offer were unclear. California has a higher income tax rate, but San Diego’s offer was believed to be significant enough to offset that.”

Leaving money on the table is a lot different than taking a discount when it comes to California taxes vs. everywhere else. If you break it down on Forbes Advisor, a married person in California making $300 million will see about $149 million of that money after taxes. In PA, the same person would see about $179 million. So if the offer was really “significant enough to offset taxes” the Padres probably came in anywhere in the $350-$360 million range. Turner didn’t really take a discount since he would’ve probably been making roughly the same amount of money in either city. He did kind of fuck the market of the other three prime free agent shortstops taking less in AAV than expected. But that’s not our fault or his fault. The most important thing is the Phillies got their guy. They had Turner ranked first, Carlos Correa ranked a close second (but worried about his injury history), and Xander Boegarts plus Dansby Swanson significantly behind in third and fourth.

Phillies fans should also take pride in knowing they had a significant hand in not only the Turner signing, but potentially other free agents wanting to play here. Players from around the league took notice of the atmosphere in CBP during the playoffs (more Gelb) –

The Phillies have spent weeks meeting with players and agents and pitching them on what is happening in Philadelphia. One common theme has emerged in those chats.

“The energy, the noise, the enthusiasm,” Dombrowski said. “Everybody’s mentioned it. Not just one. There’s a very big excitement.”

“I think it’s one of the first things that gets covered,” Fuld said. “A number of guys have used the phrase, ‘You can feel it through the TV.’ Most of the guys we talked to were glued to the TV watching, through the playoffs.”

Who doesn’t want to play in this environment?

When you compare the Philly crowd to whatever the hell this is it’s not even a fair fight: