4 horrible front office decisions that backfired on the Phillies in 2024
There are some decisions that the Phillies' front office probably wishes they could have a redo on.
During the 2024 MLB season, the Philadelphia Phillies front office ended up making various moves over the course of the year.
Whether it was through signings in free agency or by trades with other teams, their hope was that they would end up helping the players succeed and give them the best chance at winning. In addition, there were also other moves that the Phillies decided not to pursue, believing that they already have that aspect covered with their current core group.
In the end, when all was said and done, some of the moves worked out for the Phillies. However, for a select few, the moves blew up in their faces big time, which may have ultimately led to their demise in a disappointing end to their 2024 season.
Here, we will take a look at four horrible decisions by Dave Dombrowski and the front office that ended up backfiring on the Phillies this season.
4 horrible front office decisions that backfired on the Phillies in 2024
Signing Whit Merrifield
During the past offseason, the Phillies made their biggest splash when they signed veteran utilityman Whit Merrifield in free agency.
As a former three-time All-Star who also led the AL in hits twice and stolen bases on three other occasions, Philadelphia believed that he could be a huge contributor to the club with his combination of elite hitting, speed and positional flexibility. Especially when he was coming off a strong 2023 season with the Toronto Blue Jays in which he batted .272 with a .700 OPS, 66 runs scored, 27 doubles, 11 home runs, 67 RBI and 26 stolen bases in 145 games.
However, Merrifield turned out to be a huge disappointment for the Phillies. He put up some of the worst numbers of his career. In 53 games, he compiled a dismal .199 average and .572 OPS, with just 21 runs scored, four doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
Merrifield didn't even last the season as the Phillies ultimately released him in July. To add insult to injury, he eventually joined the Atlanta Braves and actually played a small yet valuable role in their run to make the postseason.
As a result, the front office's biggest offseason signing failed in all aspects during his tenure with the Phillies and ended up helping a division rival instead. It's likely a decision they wish they could have back.
Not adding a proven back end of the rotation starter
Heading into 2024, the Phillies were quite certain they were set with their starting four in the rotation with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez. Their only real question mark was how Taijuan Walker would bounce back and perform after being left out of their postseason run in 2023.
Perhaps the front office had some confidence that Walker would remain a solid option this year. At least that was what it seemed like because the Phillies didn’t pursue any proven starting pitchers during the 2023-24 offseason to add to their starting pitching depth.
Instead, Philadelphia took their chances with free agent signees such as Spencer Turnbull and Kolby Allard and traded for pitching prospects such as Michael Mercado to be part of their insurance depth.
When Walker was hit with injuries and ineffectiveness during the season, that depth suddenly was thrust into action. Unfortunately, none of them resolved the Phillies’ fifth spot in the rotation. Turnbull started out strong, but then his season was derailed by a right lat strain that occurred in late June. Both Allard and Mercado also had their cracks at the role, but they failed to impress in the limited number of starts given to them.
Had the Phillies gone after a legitimate back end of the rotation starter during free agency, they wouldn’t have had to deal with the problem that persisted all season. In addition, it ultimately would have given them another viable option during the playoffs so that they wouldn’t have needed to go to a struggling Suárez in the do-or-die Game 4 of the NLDS. The Phillies certainly learned it the hard way and will hopefully not make that same mistake again heading into 2025.
Trading for Austin Hays
For the 2024 season, the Phillies fielded an outfield combination that consisted of the power-hitting Nick Castellanos, along with the defensively-strong Johan Rojas and Brandon Marsh, with Merrifield acting as their backup as the utilityman on the team.
However, with Merrifield failing to produce, along with the offensive output of both Rojas and Marsh leaving a lot to be desired, it left the Phillies no choice but to search for an outfield upgrade at the trade deadline. Despite other intriguing candidates available, Philadelphia ended up settling with Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles.
After putting together an All-Star season with the Orioles in 2023, Hays was amidst a down year in 2024 that saw him hit just .255 with a .711 OPS, with 18 runs scored, 13 doubles, three home runs and 14 RBI over 63 games prior to the trade. His struggles also resulted in his playing time being cut back in Baltimore in favor of younger prospects such as Colton Cowser.
The Phillies believed that if Hays was given everyday starting status, he should be able to revert back to his 20-homer, 70-RBI yearly pace that he had shown in his previous three seasons. In addition, with 23 DRS over that same time frame, Hays has proven that he could get things done in the field as well.
Unfortunately, he did not turn out to be the answer, as he struggled to stay healthy throughout his short tenure with the Phillies. Following the trade, Hays managed to get into only 22 games in total as he was sidelined by a hamstring injury in August and a kidney infection in September.
In the end, he batted .256 with a .672 OPS, eight runs scored, five doubles, two home runs and six RBI. He also saw minimal action during the postseason, striking out three times in just four at-bats. So rather than acquiring someone who could have provided a huge impact on the club down the stretch and in the playoffs, the Phillies instead bombed out with an acquisition that became a non-factor.
Not adding a clutch power bat at the trade deadline
When the Phillies were rolling with their potent offense for much of the first three months of the season, no one was worrying that they couldn’t hit or score runs. However, when worrying signs of the offense beginning to struggle became apparent in July, the front office did not appear to take that issue too seriously, expecting the lineup to eventually get out of the funk.
Nevertheless, the Phillies still had the opportunity to provide a safety net to fall back on by acquiring a power bat or two with the trade deadline approaching. Despite strong candidates such as Brent Rooker of the Oakland Athletics and even Jorge Soler of the San Francisco Giants available in the trade market, the Phillies never ended up being proactive in pursuing such potential game-changers.
Not only would they have provided valuable offensive insurance to the club, but there's no doubt they would have made a significant impact in the lineup that could have been the difference in putting the Phillies over the top.
Just taking a look at their final two months of the season, Rooker compiled a stellar .293 average with an .879 OPS, 29 runs scored, 13 home runs and 35 RBI over just 50 games for the lowly Athletics. Soler batted .243 with an .849 OPS along with 27 runs scored, 11 doubles, nine home runs and 24 RBI in just 49 games after he was traded to the Braves to help them reach the postseason.
By now we all know what Hays ended up producing for the Phillies. So when the Phillies had trouble generating runs during the NLDS, they finally realized what they painfully missed out on at the deadline. In effect, they could have been the difference between the Phillies moving on in the playoffs versus going home.
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