The Phil's weren't going to let him go as a cash dump. Amaro would get killed. The Cubs were always going to have to pay a premium in prospects if they wanted him. Get Lester in the offseason. We don't know that. Part of the package might have been the Phillies picking up some of the salary, which might be why the Phillies would have been asking for a premium prospect. Well then that is not good news for payroll limitations. My point was/is that the Phillies would not do a salary dump and get nothing in return. Yes, we know, but you started that debate yourself. That wasn't the point of the original post. He even said that probably wasn't ever likely. It's the fact that Theo was willing to put the Cubs in a position where if Amaro did something wacky and just gave him and his entire salary to the Cubs, then the Cubs were prepared for that, which meant they are ready to take on larger salaries. He never said it was going to happen, he was using it as an example to show the Cubs are just warming up and they are going to soon be ready to make big moves. The point wasn't "We're getting him for free" it was "The Cubs are nearly ready to go all in"