Dave Dombrowski has a mess to clean up this winter. The president of baseball operations has put together a Philadelphia Phillies team that has bowed out of the playoffs earlier than the last in each of the past five seasons. Big changes are needed to give this club a real chance at a long-awaited championship, but it’s hard to tell how many of those changes can realistically be made given the financial burdens and roster inflexibility the Phillies face. To wit, Dombrowski’s comments on Tuesday may temper expectations.
The Phillies have a Swiss Cheese roster: there are plenty of holes. The catcher position was an unmitigated disaster in 2026, as stalwart J.T. Realmuto finally succumbed to Father Time, while backups Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchán hit worse than most pitchers pre-universal DH. Shortstop Trea Turner had the worst season of his career and has been given an ultimatum by the front office: improve in the field or be moved down the defensive depth chart.
All three outfield spots were varying degrees of frustrating, starting with right field. Two-time All-Star Adolis García was brought in as the latest in a series of one-year Band-Aids, but he fell flat in right field before undergoing season-ending surgery in June. Rookie Justin Crawford didn’t completely faceplant in his first taste of the big leagues, but his .662 OPS left plenty to be desired and he was platooned with journeyman Derek Hill.
Fan favorite Brandon Marsh turned in an All-Star first half before becoming one of the worst players in the game down the stretch, and is now the subject of trade rumors heading into his final year of team control. Things got so dire that first baseman Bryce Harper was shifted to right field to stop the bleeding, leading to a massive playoff blunder (that he more than made up for).
Worse of all was the bullpen. Closer Jhoan Duran remains beyond reproach, but just about everyone behind him fell apart. José Alvarado, Tanner Banks, and trade acquisition Brooks Raley all turned in career-worst performances during their time in Philadelphia this past year. Free agent pickup Brad Keller was shaky for a few months before undergoing Tommy John surgery that should wipe out most, if not all, of 2027. The only bright spots were rookie Alex McFarlane (who the front office waited far too long to call up) and Jonathan Bowlan (who faltered in the second half while dealing with groin injuries).
Yet the Phillies rotation made up for some of those maladies. In 2026. Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Jesús Luzardo headlined the best starting staff in the sport, followed by veteran Aaron Nola and rookie Andrew Painter. Both Painter and Nola were brutal in the first half, leading to the former being optioned to Triple-A, but both found their footing down the stretch.
However, a shortage of starting pitching depth left the team unprepared for Painter’s demotion and a late-season injury to Luzardo. It led to Alan Rangel and José Urquidy throwing meaningful innings for a team with World Series aspirations.
The Phillies have options to fix their myriad problems, but can they address all of them?
With the World Series now over, the focus of the baseball world shifts to the hot stove. A massive wrench will be thrown into front-office dealings once the sports’ owners implement a lockout on December 2nd, but until then, teams can sign free agents and make trades to their hearts’ content.
Plenty of available players fit the Phillies’ needs. Seiya Suzuki or Randy Arozarena would do wonders for their outfield. Any backup-catching option on the free-agent market would be a massive improvement. Japanese star Teruaki Sato could fill the void at third base or right field. Adrián Morejón headlines a relief pitching class that could radically overhaul the current bullpen picture.
The question is, how many meaningful additions can the Phillies make? Dombrowski spoke to that on Tuesday at the annual general managers’ meetings. “I guess it just depends on what ends up happening with different things,” the 70-year-old said. “And one of the things—we have a lot of high-end salary players. And they’re not young. They’re not old. But they’re in that age bracket where you have to make a decision. Maybe we have enough high-end players and we need to complement them with other players overall. That’s a decision we have to make. But I’m not necessarily looking for our club to continue to get older.”
That sure sounds like Dombrowski isn’t going to throw money at veteran free agents to fix all of their problems. The club’s 2027 payroll is already close to $300 million before a single reinforcement has arrived. There should be some wiggle room for a free agent or two, but bringing in high-priced stars to fill every hole seems unlikely, and it may mean Aidan Miller has a bigger role to fill in 2027.
“I’ve said this before and I mean it, Aidan Miller would have played with us last year. And he’d have been a good player for us last year at some point. We didn’t get there. It’s just how life goes. I can’t control that. But he goes to Arizona, and I bet if you check around, he was one of the best players in the Arizona Fall League. If not the best, then he’s right there," Dombrowski said.
Given his comments, it's not impossible that Miller may be with the Phillies on Opening Day to take over third base, but the outfield and bullpen will still need a lot of work. That is all without mentioning the idea of shoring up the starting pitching staff to account for future injuries or ineffectiveness.
“I can’t tell you what our No. 1 need is,” Dombrowski said. “I think you look at all the different areas where you think you can improve upon—and, of course, you always can improve—but just areas you can get better, and then you weigh the finances that you have available, and then you decide on which ones you’re going to address most prominently.
“That’s how I kind of line it up. It could go in a lot of different ways depending upon the cost of players, who’s available and how do we like this guy. We’re looking at addressing all of them, an outfielder, some right-handed hitting, utility infielder, a little bit in the bullpen... Ideally, we need another left-hander. Starting pitching depth. Are we going to do it all? I don’t know. It might be hard because they all cost money, too.”
There’s a lot to read into. Dombrowski acknowledged the myriad flaws in the roster he put together, without painting himself into a specific corner. He leaves open the possibility of a splashy Suzuki or Arozarena signing, or another reclamation project like Taylor Ward.
The Phillies will certainly look different in 2027, but just how so is anyone’s guess. They have too many holes to patch with the resources currently available to them, so it shouldn’t surprise fans when a few gaps are left unfilled. Now it’s up to Dave Dombrowski to get the most bang for his buck in free agency (and on the trade market) and shore up as many weak spots as he can.
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