By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Even though signing Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado would be franchise-changing additions, there are other viable free agency options the Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly interested in acquiring this offseason.
Patrick Corbin, Josh Donaldson and Zack Greinke appear to be among the players atop the Phillies' list behind Harper and Machado, according to multiple reports on Friday.
Friday morning, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported the Phillies are showing interest in the free agent southpaw, most recently of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Corbin finished fifth in the National League Cy Young Award race, behind Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Aaron Nola and Kyle Freeland.
Corbin, 29, is viewed as the "top available starter" by most teams, with the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals and Phillies in the mix, among others, per Morosi, who writes:
The Phillies' interest in adding a prominent starting pitcher may surprise some, given the club's apparent focus on free-agent position players Bryce Harper and Manny Machado and organizational rotation depth. Of the 10 pitchers to start at least one game for Philadelphia this year, only Jake Arrieta was in his age-28 season or older.
However, a slumping rotation was one reason the Phillies' postseason hopes faded in August and September. Arrieta, Nick Pivetta, Zach Eflin and Vince Velasquez all pitched to ERAs north of 5.00 after the All-Star break. And Philadelphia utilized a left-handed starter (Ranger Suarez) in only three of its 162 regular-season games in 2018, underscoring the value of a veteran southpaw like Corbin or Dallas Keuchel.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported that the Phillies are expected to be a "major player" for Corbin on Nov. 5. NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury wrote on Friday that Corbin could demand a contract "well in excess of $100 million."
Corbin would look really good slotted in behind Aaron Nola in the Phillies' rotation. He is expected to command a multi-year contract well in excess of $100 million and the Phillies, who have been waiting for this offseason and this free-agent class, could swing that and still sign one of the big bats.
However, they will have competition for Corbin. The pitcher was raised as a Yankees fan in upstate New York. The Yankees have made it no secret that they are looking for top-end pitching this winter and Corbin has long been rumored to be a slam dunk to be wearing pinstripes.
Corbin is coming off of his sixth Major League season, all played with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Last season, the two-time All-Star tossed 200 innings while posting an impressive 246-48 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.050 WHIP.
Who will Josh Donaldson play for at the start of the 2019 MLB season? (@BovadaOfficial):
St. Louis Cardinals +115
Cleveland Indians +250
Philadelphia Phillies +250
Tampa Bay Rays +500— OddsShark (@OddsShark) October 31, 2018
The Gotham Sports Network's Max Wildstein reported on Friday that the Phillies have interest in the 2015 American League MVP, three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. If reports are true that the Phillies are "no longer interested" in Machado, acquiring Donaldson could make sense.
Donaldson, 32, was limited to just 52 regular season games with the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians last season due to an acute strain and soreness of his calf. The eight-year veteran slashed .280/.400/.520 in 16 games with the Indians, producing three doubles, three home runs, seven RBI, 10 walks and 10 strikeouts spanning 60 plate appearances.
The Phillies were among the teams reported to have interest in Donaldson during last July's trade deadline, along with the Yankees, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals.
Morosi also reported Friday morning that the Phillies are among "a relatively small group of teams with a strong farm system and enough payroll capacity" to be able to land Greinke via trade from the Diamondbacks.
Morosi writes that Phillies Manager Gabe Kapler also knows the right-hander, given the two "overlapped for one year with the Dodgers during Kapler's tenure as director of player development in Los Angeles."
The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reported in early November that the Phillies are "certainly one of the teams" that could afford Greinke's $104.5 million salary over the next three seasons.
Greinke is a 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner, five-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner.
