The Philadelphia Phillies are off to the worst start imaginable for a team with World Series aspirations. Over-the-hill president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski doomed the club to failure this past winter when he chose to run back a roster that has revealed itself to be woefully inadequate over the previous four seasons. Perhaps the most second-guessed Dombrowski move was retaining embattled third baseman Alec Bohm, and the decision to pass on Japanese star free agent Munetaka Murakami is looking worse every day.
The Phillies have been trying to break into the Asian market in recent years, making a spirited run at Yoshinibu Yamamoto and being connected to Tatsuya Imai in recent offseasons. However, the club has yet to sign a free agent directly from Japan in its 144-year history.
Slugging corner infielder Munetaka Murakami was lauded as a future big league star, but concerns about his defense and ability to make contact led to his market cratering this past winter. Ultimately, the 26-year-old settled for an underwhelming two-year, $34 million pact with the lowly Chicago White Sox.
Fans had hoped that the Phillies would go after Murakami, using him to add some much-needed pop to their lifeless offense while finally cutting bait on the perennially-unimpressive Alec Bohm. It seems the team had no interest in the Japanese slugger, and after their dogged pursuit of Bo Bichette fell through, Dombrowski infamously claimed he was “content where we are.” Famous last words.
"I think we're content where we are at this point"
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 20, 2026
Dave Dombrowski was asked about the Phillies' remaining offseason outlook on Tuesday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/3BO6K4Ax9J
Dombrowski’s unimproved roster has limped to a disastrous record to start the year, and the offense has looked predictably lifeless, scoring a grand total of 80 runs in its first 23 games. Bohm was conspicuously terrible in that span, posting a comical .128 batting average and .384 OPS through his first 22 games.
Munetaka Murakami would look pretty nice in a Phillies uniform right now
Meanwhile, Murakami has set the baseball world ablaze by blasting 10 homers over his first 24 games with the Southsiders. Not only that, but the lefty swinger has walked an astonishing 21 times, leading to an astronomical .404 on-base percentage during the same period. Yes, that dwarfs Bohm's OPS plus slugging.
The addition of Murakami would have been a Godsend to a Phillies offense that has been completely impotent outside of Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, and on just a two-year deal, the risk would have been minimal for a team that’s already overburdened with onerous contracts. Instead, Dombrowski and company decided that a lineup riddled with black holes would be enough to augment a pitching staff that lost Ranger Suárez and would be without Zack Wheeler to begin the year.
The Phillies are digging their own grave at breakneck speed less than a month into the season; a grave they may not be able to climb out of no matter how hot they get later on. The offense is proving itself to be the biggest obstacle to championship contention and that could have been avoided, at least in part, by signing Munetaka Murakami to a no-brainer deal.
Add us as a preferred source on Google