The Philadelphia Phillies are fighting for their lives in the National League Wild Card race, and the team has plenty of holes that show up on a nightly basis. They may be good enough to sneak into a playoff spot, but it’s hard to imagine this club getting all the way to the World Series. However, that may not have been the case if a few decisions had been made differently this past offseason.
How much better would the 2026 Phillies be if just a few different decisions had been made?
Thinking Adolis García could fix right field
The outfield has been a weak spot throughout president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s failed six-year tenure. Much of the blame should land at the feet of free agent flop Nick Castellanos, but the man who signed him has done little to help the situation. Dave Dombrowski’s preferred method of one-year band-aids to patch up a tragic outfield mix has led to over-the-hill veterans Josh Harrison, Whit Merrifield and Max Kepler getting significant playing time for a club with championship aspirations.
This year’s version of that phenomenon was Adolis García, a two-time All-Star and former World Series hero who has fallen on hard times over the past few years. Dombrowski signed the 33-year-old for $10 million on the heels of back-to-back uninspiring campaigns, and he was a total faceplant for the Phils.
In 67 games in red pinstripes, García worked to an anemic .195/.270/.329 slash line with just seven home runs. Top-tier defense wasn’t enough to save the once-great slugger; in fact, an arm injury he sustained while attempting to throw out a baserunner ended his season in early June. $10 million down the drain.
Not bringing in starting pitching depth
The Phillies’ starting rotation is simultaneously their greatest strength and weakest link. A Cerberus-like trio of Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez is perhaps the best in the sport, while a washed up Aaron Nola and rookie disappointment Andrew Painter play Russian roulette every time they take the mound.
Anyone with half a brain could have seen this past winter that relying on Nola and Painter to provide forty percent of the team’s starts was ill-advised, and yet Dombrowski plunged ahead with the half-baked plan. The veteran executive didn’t bring in a single hurler to add depth to the starting pitching mix, and lo and behold the club has been forced to rely upon Alan Rangel and spare parts for far too many games.
Veterans Walker Buehler, Erick Fedde and Tomoyuki Sugano all settled for minimal one-year contracts this past offseason. That group hasn’t been lights out by any means, but they’ve provided solid enough innings at a dirt cheap cost. Had Dombrowski possessed the foresight to acquire just one established arm, the Phillies wouldn’t need to ride the Painter rollercoaster for the rest of the season.
Overpaying J.T. Realmuto
First things first: J.T. Realmuto is a Phillies legend who will more than likely go down as the greatest catcher in franchise history when all is said and done. However, the man is 35 years old and has a lot of mileage on him.
The once-best catcher in baseball hasn’t lived up to that billing since his elite 2022 campaign, and limped to a .700 OPS last year. He became a free agent at season’s end, and there was plenty of speculation as to whether or not the Phillies would bring him back.
For a moment it looked as though he would become a casualty of a Bo Bichette signing, but the subsequent rugpull left the team scrambling. That same day, Dombrowski did what he does best and wildly overpaid for a former superstar, inking Realmuto to a three-year, $45 million pact.
The Oklahoman has completely cratered this season, putting up a paltry .630 OPS in 93 games. For comparison, Victor Caratini, the next best free agent backstop, has posted a .651 mark for the Minnesota Twins, while costing just $14 million over two years. Imagine how much better the Phillies would look if they had signed Caratini instead, and reallocated those savings to a higher quality right fielder.
Keeping Alec Bohm
How is Alec Bohm still here? The 2018 third-overall draft pick has failed to materialize into the star the organization hoped for in his seven seasons in Philadelphia, and his childish attitude has made him public enemy number one. Third base has been a position that the Phillies could use an upgrade at for years, and yet Dombrowski has stubbornly stuck with the mediocre incumbent.
As was the case with Realmuto, Bichette was supposed to supplant Bohm in the Phils’ lineup, but when that fell through, Dombrowski had no plan B. As a result, he ran it back with the same uninspiring third sacker yet again.
The 30-year-old has repaid that vote of confidence with a measly .242/.301/.383 line, to go alongside his typical brand of horrifying defense. Considering the fact that Bohm will reach free agency this coming winter, and there’s practically zero chance he returns in 2027, Dombrowski had no reason not to pursue an upgrade at the trade deadline.
Curiously, not only did Dombrowski not bring in a third baseman, but he rearranged the squad’s entire defensive alignment upon acquiring second baseman Luis Arraez just to keep Bohm’s lifeless bat in the lineup. He may be on a long-awaited hot streak over the past week, but that hardly makes up for four months’ worth of disappointment.
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