By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Even after all of those blockbuster acquisitions under former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., including the assembling of the historic 2011 rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, the Philadelphia Phillies have never spent more money in an offseason until now.
Under Managing Partner John Middleton and Vice President and General Manager Matt Klentak, the Phillies' $169.25 million allotted to their four free agent signings entering the 2018 season, in Jake Arrieta, Tommy Hunter, Pat Neshek and Carlos Santana, is the most the club has ever spent in an offseason in franchise history, notes John Buccigross.
- RHP Jake Arrieta: $75 million, three years (could max-out at $135 million over five years)
- RHP Tommy Hunter: $18 million, two years and $6 million signing bonus
- RHP Pat Neshek: $16.25 million, two years and $4 million signing bonus
- 1B/OF Carlos Santana: $60 million, three years and $10 million signing bonus
The figure does not include the $20 million total allotted in signing bonuses to Hunter, Neshek and Santana.
Based on average annual value, Phillies signed two of five most lucrative contracts since last season: Arrieta ($25 million) and Santana ($20 million).
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) March 11, 2018
Only Arrieta's former team in the Chicago Cubs, who are two seasons removed from their third World Series championship in franchise history, spent more this offseason, $205 million. More than half of those commitments were allotted to one player, right-hander Yu Darvish with his six-year, $126 million deal.
The Phillies may not be done spending. A March 1 MLB.com report suggested the club may not add only one free agent starter this offseason, but two. Veteran names such as right-handers Alex Cobb and Jeremy Hellickson are still available. Despite Arrieta adding $30 million to the Phillies' 2018 payroll, the club's $75,378,833 total commitments for 2018 still ranks 27th, well under the league average.
An incredible tidbit from this great @DaveSheinin piece on the Jake Arrieta signing:
The #Phillies guaranteed more money to free agents this offseason ($169.2 million) than the other four NL East teams combined ($116.245 million)!
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) March 14, 2018
In addition to drastically improving its roster, the club is also heading multi-year, multi-million-dollar upgrades to their stadium, Citizens Bank Park.
It is no secret that the club is committed to winning under their new leadership, and for most, sooner than expected.
