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When Your Championship Window is Wide Open, You Shouldn’t Care About the Luxury Tax
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Jim Salisbury left NBC Sports Philadelphia after the 2022 season but is still plugged in with the Phils. He went on the WIP midday show Monday and said the following about the non-pursuit of pitcher Jordan Montgomery (transcription via Andrew Porter) –
“They have a reluctance to jump over that third tier of the luxury tax, which the signing of Montgomery would do,” Salisbury explained to Hugh Douglas and Joe Giglio.
“And I don’t even know if it’s so much the tax and the money, as it is the impact it could have on draft position, international signings, etcetera, etcetera, because they need to get young players—continue to procure young players to sustain this thing. If he’s still out there come midseason, we’ll see. It seems like he could be one of those hired gun types.”
First – I love how Salisbury left his gig a year and a half ago and continues to do radio hits anyway. That’s status right there, the fact that you can be out of the game for a full season and change and continue to be invited on shows and continue to drop insider knowledge.
Second – when you go 20/40/60 million dollars over the threshold, you get hit with rising surcharges, and if you’re $40 million or more above the threshold, your highest selection in the draft moves back 10 spots, unless than pick falls inside the top 6. So you get penalized cumulatively for each level of the tax you enter.
Third – who gives a shit about any of that? You’re trying to win now and get John Middleton’s trophy back. What’s a little more stupid money at this point? You’re not trying to “sustain this thing” because the championship window is wide open right now. You literally just went to a World Series and Game 7 of the NLCS. You’ve got an aging core and Taijuan Walker is banged up to start the season. You already have a top four payroll, so go get Jordan Montgomery, pay the tax, and let’s fucking go. This is the Phillies we’re talking about, not the Union. If you wanna be cheap, go be Jay Sugarman.
The time to win is now. If Montgomery isn’t your guy, that’s one thing, but if you’re avoiding him or any remaining free agent because of tax reasons, then it runs counter to everything Middleton has said and done in recent seasons. It’s his aggression and willingness to spend that got the Phils to where they are now.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com