After being eliminated from the 2024 playoffs in the NLDS by the New York Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies will go back to the drawing board to improve the team this offseason. Philadelphia's season had been unsteady since July. Their elimination early on in the postseason may have left fans gutted, but it was hardly surprising.
Will president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and new general manager Preston Mattingly be more active in free agency and the trade market this winter than last year? The Phillies believed they already possessed a roster capable of returning to the World Series for the second time in three years in 2024, following losing in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLCS.
There are more doubts and concerns than last winter about whether the Phillies can win a World Series. After all, the only player on the 2024 roster who had a good postseason was starting pitcher Zack Wheeler. His outing during Game 1 of the NLDS kept Philly in the lead until his exit late in the contest. The remainder of their core, in addition to the secondary players, underachieved throughout the four games.
During his press conference on Oct. 15, Dombrowski commented that: " just have to be open-minded to exploring what’s out there for us, talk to some clubs and see what ends up happening. That process hasn’t started. Sometimes you trade good players for good players.”
He believes the roster is talented enough to win a championship but just needs to play well at the right time.
There is some merit to Dombrowski's mentioning a club playing well at the right time to make a deep playoff run. The Mets had success during the second half of the 2024 season, which led to their first appearance in the NLCS since 2015.
The Diamondbacks had momentum late in 2023, which propelled the franchise to defeat the Phillies and culminated in their first World Series appearance since 2001. In 2024, Arizona played inconsistently and narrowly missed the postseason.
Philadelphia played well in the second half of the regular season in 2022, and that momentum carried over to the postseason as they won their first National League pennant since 2009. So, a lot of luck is needed.
Based on one of Dombrowski's comments about "trading good players for good players," could the Phillies be more active on the trade market this offseason? It certainly seems possible as some players who are not locked up long-term did not pull their weight for the club during the second half of the season and in the playoffs.
Here are three bold offseason moves the Phillies need to make to win the 2025 World Series.