When I was a child, just before the holidays, my mother used to take me shopping in downtown Philadelphia. We'd walk down the hill to Manayunk and get the 61 bus or the train to the Reading Terminal.
Mom shopped at two department stores, Strawbridge's and Gimbles. She especially liked Gimbles because the store had a bargain basement. When we arrived at the Gimbels department store, we'd go down steps into a gigantic room where clothes were piled on tables. Clothes at a discounted price.
Nudged up against a $300 million payroll, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski has been shopping in Gimble's bargain basement lately and selecting players with a history of injuries.
Thus far, Dombrowski has added 32-year-old relief pitcher Jordan Romano, who was non-tendered — baseball speak for let go, we're not interested, shown the door — by the Blue Jays. Signed at $8.5 million for one year, Romano, possibly the Phillies closer, was a bargain.
But Romano is coming off a year marred by elbow injuries resulting in arthroscopic surgery, which is why the Blue Jays chose to non-tender him.
Next, Dombrowski grabbed a 32-year-old outfielder, Max Kepler; at a one-year contract of $10 million, Kepler has bad knees and a hip issue for which he gets cortisone shots. Speaking from experience, the cortisone shots eventually stop working.
In his ten-year career, Kepler has never played left, but says Dombrowski, it's an easy adjustment from right to left, and Kepler can hit. A year ago, we were told Whit Merrifield and Austin Hayes could hit, too. Truth is, Kepler can hit a little, when he’s healthy.
But just before Dombrowski heads for the stairs to the first floor, he finds another bargain. The Miami Marlins offered up a 27-year-old flamethrowing left-hander, Jesus Luzardo, who will slot nicely into the Phillies rotation.
The bargain? The Phillies lose a gifted shortstop prospect who may have grandchildren before Trea Turner's contract expires. And a double-A, 11th-round pick outfielder.
Luzardo is projected to earn $6 million in 2025 and possibly $11 million in 2026. And the Marlins threw in a 27-year-old minor league catcher, Paul McIntosh.
But like most bargains, Luzardo comes with blemishes. He's had Tommy John surgery, elbow tightness, a forearm issue, and last season, a lumbar stress reaction — possibly a career-ending back issue — that shut down his season in early June.
And finally, there is Joe Ross. Dombrowski grabbed him for a deal worth $4 million. He's a swingman — he can start or relieve, and he's never been a candidate for the Cy Young award. When Ross pitched for the Nationals, he got lit up. He had a decent year with the Brewers in 2024, but like the other Dombrowski add-ons, he's not always healthy. Ross spent considerable time on the IL last season with a lower back strain.
Question: What is it with these Dombrowski signings? They all have physical problems. Answer: That's what happens when you shop in the bargain basement.
But why the bargain basement? Look, the Phillies are right up against the Major League luxury tax — right now, they are SLIGHTLY over it. Dombrowski had to shop for bargains to avoid going WAY over it. But the players he obtained could fold like a cheap ten by Father's Day.
They can reverse back out of the luxury tax penalty by removing two players: Taijuan Walker ($18 million '25 and' 26) and Nick Castellanos ($20 million '25 and' 26). The problem with that is no team wants them.
Here's what I say. The Phillies have an aged but solid core of high-paid superstars. So Dombrowski's strategy to win in 2025 is to fill in with low-cost, bargain additions — which he's done — to stay at the luxury tax demilitarized zone, then make a big splash with a trade or two.
When the dust settles at the end of spring training, he hopes to be under the luxury tax, not over it.
Meanwhile, the competition — Dodgers, Mets, Nationals —are much better. The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, completely healed, will hit and pitch, thus giving the Dodgers a potential number-one starter while maintaining an MVP bat. We haven’t seen that since the Big Bambino.
The Mets added Juan Soto's bat and the Nationals are quietly building a team with youth and are ready to make a move.
Also, another Japanese phenom is loose on the free agent circuit. Twenty-three-year-old Roki Sasaki, considered by some to be the greatest sushi eating pitcher ever to leave the Land of the Rising Sun. Numerous teams will break the bank for him excluding one. Do I have to tell you?
A big trade is coming between now and the season opener. Bohm and possibly one or two others will be sent packing.
But only one thing is certain. Dombrowski would have loved shopping with my mother.
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