Dave Dombrowski
Finally, this list wouldn’t be complete without including the one who could have been the difference-maker for the club, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Even before heading into the 2024 season, Dombrowski had always had his vision of winning and that you needed stars to help make that happen.
Well, during the 2023-24 offseason, the Phillies made a number of free agent signings and waiver claims, but none of them turned out to be of any significance. In fact, one of their biggest signings in utilityman Whit Merrifield turned out to be a huge flop, as he was released midway through the 2024 season.
Nevertheless, Dombrowski had the chance to make up for everything at the trade deadline to reshape the Phillies in the best possible way down the stretch and heading into the playoffs.
With potential game-changers in Brent Rooker and Luis Robert Jr. available, the Phillies settled with outfielder Austin Hays. Hays ended up being a negligible acquisition as he failed to stay healthy, along with providing little in production when he did get into game action.
The Phillies also got Carlos Estévez, along with lefty Tanner Banks, to shore up the bullpen. Although they did a decent job down the stretch, things could have been even better with some big-name relievers such as Tanner Scott and Michael Kopech also moved at the deadline. As a result, Philadelphia really missed out on some potential star power that Dombrowski has always emphasized who could have been potential difference-makers for the club.
In the end, all three deadline acquisitions actually failed to produce when the games mattered most. Hays appeared in two playoff games and struck out three times in four at-bats. Banks appeared in just one game and gave up one run on two hits in one inning of mop-up work. Finally, Estévez fared the best among the three, but still ended up giving up the key hit in Game 4 to Francisco Lindor that ended the Phillies’ season.
Overall, it appeared as though the Phillies remained status quo, and perhaps even regressed a bit this season despite all the moves they made. As a result, Dombrowski will need to make up for it with a productive offseason to get the Phillies back on track and in the right direction in 2025.