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Are the Phillies Broke?

144ashland

Updated: Jan 25

     


Max Kepler is surely a bargain basement move.
Max Kepler is surely a bargain basement move.

Is Phillies managing partner John Middleton out of money, or is Dombrowski playing hide and seek?

     Since December 2020, when Dave Dombrowski, President of Baseball Operations for the Philadelphia Phillies, joined the team, he has made significant trades and free-agent signings. His 35-year resume will surely put him in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

     But, using the adage, what has he done lately, brings questions and suspicion into play.

     How so? Let's examine it from two perspectives: one, players the Phillies let go, and two, players the Phillies signed.

     Through addition by subtraction he's let go two key bullpen pitchers, Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez. Hoffman signed with the Blue Jays for three years, $33 million. It is predicted that Estevez will accept a similar deal. Half the clubs in baseball want him. 

Either the Phillies no longer trust Hoffman and Estevez, or they've been let go for financial reasons. 

      The players Dombrowski has signed have more questions than an SAT exam. They've mostly been injured more than they haven't. All of Dombrowski's recent signings or trades could be card-carrying members of the Joel Embiid club.

     There is no way in hell that any of these players will get through a season without missing significant time on the IL (injury list). If you want to look them up, go ahead. I have, and their past history of missed games is mind-boggling. These are not typical Dombrowski trades or signings.

     What is also mind-boggling is that the Phillies' outfield problem of the past three years was fixed by adding Max Kepler, who hasn't played an entire season since 2017. Dombrowski says that Kapler will be the Phillies' permanent left fielder. We can only assume that Johan Rojas and Brandon Marsh will share center.

     To repeat the opening line of this piece, the Phillies are either broke or Dombrowski is playing hide-and-seek. I doubt if the Phillies are broke. Check your Comcast bill and figure it out. Ours keeps going up.

     So let's go with hide and seek.

     Watch out whenever a guy like Dombrowski has trade pieces in hand and has to fill a need or two. And Dombrowski has both. 

     What he needs is a bullpen closer that scares people. The kind of pitcher that when he gets up to stretch in the bullpen, the opposing hitters think, "Oh, shit," the type of pitcher whose walk-in music is Amazing Grace, currently the most popular funeral music in America.

     The Phillies don't have that now.

     He also needs an outfielder who can play center nearly as good as Rojas and hit nearly as well as Bryce Harper.

     The Phillies don't have that now, either.

     Dombrowski is working on it because he has bodies he can trade that other teams need and want.

     Examine the rotation. 

     Wheeler, Nola, Sanchez, Suarez, Luzardo, and Andew Painter on the way. Add Taijuan Walker if you like. It's overcrowded, especially if you consider that minor leaguer Mick Abel could be added to the mix. So, select one pitcher you would use in a trade.

     I'll select Ranger Suarez.

     Next, look at the position players and select a player Dombrowski can add to the trade list. I'll pick Alx Bohm. He's young and talented and has a tradeable salary of $8.1 million. And here's another adage: In  major league trades, you have to give up "good" to get "good." Now, we have Suarez and Bohm on the list as trade pieces.

     But don't stop there. The Phillies have youth to trade, which many of the clubs in baseball would love to have. Combine them with Suarez and Bohm, and you have a great trade on the horizon.

     And Dombrowski ain't afraid to pull the trigger.

     Finally, there is a free agent out there who would fit nicely into the Phillies' lineup. Former Astros third baseman Alex Bregman wants $156 million over six years. The Phillies will not go there.

     But could Bregman be convinced to accept a one- or two-year deal with the Phillies? Several teams are after Bregman, but none can offer the lineup the Phillies can. Boston is the hottest team pursuing Bregman, but Boston was 81-81 in 2024.

     Here's a clue to help you figure all this out: Back in December, did Dombrowski offer a one-on-one swap, Bohm for the A's Mason Miller, because he sees Miller as the lights-out, "oh, shit, no" closer he needs? Or did he want Miller because of Miller's $740K salary, who isn't a free agent until 2030?

     If I knew the answer, I'd have an office at Citizens Bank Park.

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