In a disappointing turn of events, it looks like the Philadelphia Phillies are finished with their holiday shopping. After the team agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract with veteran outfielder Max Kepler on Thursday, fans were hoping that it would be just the first move to solidify the edges of what is hopefully a World Series-winning roster.
Unfortunately, it turns out that the Kepler signing will be the only holiday gift Phillies fans will get this year.
Dave Dombrowski says the Phillies are done with 'impactful' signings
On Friday, Philadelphia beat writers reported that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke about the rest of the team’s offseason and its goals. It turns out that, per Dombrowski, the Phillies are done with “impactful” signings, according to MLB.com’s Paul Casella.
"I’d be surprised if we got into impactful-type of free-agent signings from an offensive perspective,” Dombrowski told media after the signing, per Casella and Todd Zolecki. “ … We're over $300 million in the threshold. Everybody we sign is a major penalty at this point. So you're cognizant of that.”
The Phillies signed former All-Star closer Jordan Romano earlier in the month at the Winter Meetings, and it looks like the former Toronto Blue Jays closer and now the former Minnesota Twins outfielder will be the two “big” offseason additions.
With Kepler set to be the everyday left fielder and with no more impactful moves remaining — they still might add a back end of the rotation/long man out of the bullpen — the Phillies look like they’re going to be rolling with a Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas platoon in center field based on their current roster. After looking at all of the free agent outfield options this offseason, it feels a little underwhelming.
One sympathizes with the front office's tight financial position. By signing Kepler, they've avoided going over the $301 million fourth luxury tax threshold, which comes with a 110 percent tax penalty. However, they're butting up against it at a projected $299 million payroll in 2025. From fans' perspective, the shift from the front office's messaging of wanting to shake up the roster after a disappointing playoff exit in October to making a couple of low-cost bets on bounce-back seasons is disheartening.