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Make Room!: Phillies Trade International Bonus Slots With Arizona

Hello Jhailyn Ortiz.

So, the Phillies were in a bit of a money crunch, last we left our July 2 heroes. They had reportedly agreed to terms with one of the top Latin American prospects in Jhailyn Ortiz, as well as potentially surprisingly catcher Rafael Marchan, but Ortiz' bonus of 4.2 MM and Marchan's relatively modest 200 K would have put them over their bonus limit of ~3 MM dollars, and thereby would not only make them pay a bunch of tax money, but would've also made them ineligible for next year's July 2 prospects.

The Phillies solved that problem today by trading for the Diamondbacks' bonus slot, the highest overall, giving up their bonus slot (ninth overall) and minor league pitchers Chris Oliver and Josh Taylor.