PHILADELPHIA — Dave Dombrowski’s response Tuesday to the term “missing piece” entailed a four-minute unbroken tour through his encyclopedic baseball history. The practical answer for the Phillies this winter is likely to be just as complex.
The president of baseball operations has much to weigh as the Phillies head into another offseason sooner than fans would like. A team that has increased its win total each of the last four seasons while sliding out of the playoffs a round earlier each of the last two offers conflicting signals. There’s no obvious roster hole to fill, no superstar panacea on the free-agent market, no manager to fire, no burgeoning star to hand a larger role. There’s only persistent whispers about windows closing.
And so, Dombrowski’s answers at the end-of-season press briefing hewed to the extremes. The problem in a four-game exit from the National League Division Series to the Mets? Simple: “Our bullpen didn’t pitch well. … We didn’t score enough runs. We just did not.”
Fixing it? Complicated, as a lengthy disquisition about Atlanta Braves teams that won 12 straight divisions but one World Series, Dombrowski’s collection of Hall of Famers in Detroit that never won a world title and what it took for his teams in Boston to get over the hump.
“The answer,” Dombrowski would find eventually, “is playing well at the right time.”
Getting there, though, won’t be easy. It’s may require discomfort, tough decisions and a little creativity in the winter in trying to extract a championship from a roster that has so far only produced pedestrian greatness.
Dombrowski was forthright in his evaluations, which offer both constraints in making changes but also, on paper, little need for it. He backed his team retaining starting stability in at least seven positions of the batting order — seven and a half, with Brandon Marsh — four starting pitchers and the bulk of the bullpen. He announced a contract extension through 2026 for manager Rob Thomson, who reiterated his desire to end his career in Philadelphia.
The organization is retaining the entire coaching staff.
Dombrowski said he didn’t expect either top prospects Aidan Miller or Justin Crawford to be on the Opening Day roster in 2025, though Crawford is moving fast through the system. Innings limitations on the surgically repaired elbow of Andrew Painter prevent him from shouldering a full season in the bigs.
The biggest lineup alteration Thomson offered could be moving Kyle Schwarber down to reduce the number of solo home runs he hits. The most pressing personnel need, Dombrowski seemed to say, was a fifth starter, the power of persuasion to get J.T. Realmuto to take more days off and bolstering catching depth.
So cue the quote about the definition of insanity?
Well, not according to Dombrowski.
“You’re looking to make your club better,” he said. “You’re not looking to be in a position to just change faces. I think you’re in a position where it depends upon who’s available and how we weigh that, and how they fit into your club.”
Dombrowski was noncommittal on expanding payroll for 2025, though he said there’s no indications of John Middleton wanting to reduce it.
He was lukewarm on adding another star, for those that think Juan Soto might be the savior, pointing out the team’s eight All-Stars meaning that “we have as many stars as about anybody in baseball.” He cited a desire to add “championship players” before admitting he’s not quite sure what that means.
That would seem to point toward a third straight year of flying the “run it back” flag and pessimism that it’s the only flag to be raised. It also hints at some creative handling of assets, hardly a destruction of the core that has led to 20 playoff wins in the last three seasons but at least a retooling or an adjustment to get some different types of skills in there.
“The reality is, we have a lot of good players, right?” Dombrowski said. “So I think we just have to be open-minded to exploring what’s out there for us, talk to some clubs and see what ends up happening.
“Sometimes,” he added, “you trade good players for good players.”
Thomson offered the only real defense of what transpired against the Mets and what it means for the future.
“We have a good ballclub,” he said. “This roster is a championship roster. It really is. Dave and the front office have done a great job. Now, we haven’t gotten it done. I haven’t gotten it done.”
“Just get it done” was the consensus in the visiting clubhouse at Citi Field, too. Though that’s not an actionable plan for a baseball executive.
Getting guys who’ve won before sounds a lot like further graying an already veteran roster. Making no changes reeks of complacency. Saying “don’t chase” or “use the entire field” to batters who’ve made millions of dollars doing those things seems both doomed to fail and an inadequate measure.
So what’s the middle path between assertiveness and inaction? It’s narrow, but it’s why someone like Dombrowski, who should have a bust in Cooperstown someday, is paid handsomely for his services.
“I think we have a real good core of players,” he said. “But again, I think we’ll be open-minded to see if we can make our ballclub better. So that’s really our goal.”
Contact Matthew De George at [email protected].
