Dombrowski: Bullpen, catcher, shortstop top 3 Phillies needs

Phillies president Dave Dombrowski identifies their top three areas of need.

The Philadelphia Phillies offseason has largely been uneventful, other than a few minor-league signings that include pitchers Neftali Feliz and Michael Ynoa, infielder Ronald Torreyes, and catcher Christian Bethancourt.

Despite adding potential bullpen, infield, and backstop pieces for the 2021 roster, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski still thinks those three areas are still top priorities the organization has to address this offseason. And, rightfully so, considering their near all-time worst 2020 bullpen, and the potential losses of both Didi Gregorius and J.T. Realmuto.

“[The bullpen, catcher and shortstop positions] would be our biggest needs as we go forward,” Dombrowski recently said on MLB Network Radio. “We’ll see how many of them we can address.”

Dombrowski mentioned the bullpen as being the first area the Phillies need to retool this offseason. While he acknowledged a couple of young guys stepped up and helped, the overall group was not good at the end of the season.

“We made a trade with Tampa to get Jose Alvarado, and we think he can help us. Last year, his [stats were] a little down, but his stuff is quality,” Dombrowski added. “We think he is someone that can help us. We need to continue to pursue more help out there.”

Despite re-signing Andrew Knapp to a one-year deal, the Phillies do not seem content going into the 2021 season with him and Rafael Marchan as the Nos. 1 and 2 catchers on the depth chart. Dombrowski did not rule out them bringing back Realmuto, either.

“Right now, we we need a catcher,” Dombrowski said on MLB Network Radio. “J.T. is still out there and is someone we would love to have as part of our organization. We’ll see what ends up happening in that regard.”

As far as the shortstop position, the Phillies president of baseball operations said that while Jean Segura and Scott Kingery can play there, the organization will still probably have to also look at addressing that position this offseason.

“We’re also in a position where they’ve both been second basemen,” Dombrowski continued. “Segura can also play third, and Kingery can play the outfield.”

There are still a lot of question marks that the Phillies have to find answers to. Just more than a month remains until pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Clearwater for spring training.