With the MLB Winter Meetings now firmly in the rearview mirror, the Philadelphia Phillies can kick back and take it easy after securing Kyle Schwarber's services for the next five years. What? No? Of course not. The offseason still has plenty in store for the Phillies and their fans, hopefully.
But as of right now, everything aside from Schwarber is up in the air for the Phillies and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
Dombrowski spoke on all sorts of topics on Monday, before Schwarber's deal was announced on Tuesday. While the Phillies are waiting for catcher J.T. Realmuto to decide how the offseason will progress, Dombrowski was willing to admit that they're ready to shift gears, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
“I’m just not sure what’s going to happen,” Dombrowski told the media on Day 1 of the Winter Meetings, per Zolecki.
Dave Dombrowski's pushback on 'running it back' won't sit well with Phillies fans who want significant changes
With Phillies fans clamoring for significant roster changes after a second straight soul-crushing NLDS elimination, Dombrowski confirmed that the Phillies aren't "running it back" in 2026. However, his idea of changes might not be what fans had in mind when the offseason began.
"We’re not running our club back," Dombrowski said, per Zolecki. "We’re talking about [prospect Justin] Crawford coming in, playing with [Otto] Kemp at this point. Max [Kepler] isn’t going to be back with us. So we’re in a position where there’s already some changes. [Prospect Aidan] Miller’s getting close to playing."
As much as fans have been waiting for some of these highly touted top prospects to make their appearance at Citizens Bank Park, telling the Phillies faithful that those are the changes you're talking about for next year might not be the best PR. Laying it on Crawford and Kemp's shoulders and "updating" us that Max Kepler isn't returning (we already knew that, Dave) won't exactly get the juices flowing.
"I’m not so sure that when you win 96 games that you should really look to have to do a lot of things differently," Dombrowski said, per Zolecki. "But you’re always looking to get better. It’s very dependent upon, if you sign guys, how much money you spend, who else is available. If somebody is better than what you have, then by all means we’re open minded to it."
Signing Schwarber is technically part of "running it back," but you can see why they had to do it. Despite the slim chance that he'll reach the heights he did in 2025, losing his potent power at the top of the lineup would be tough to replace. The Phillies and Schwarber wanted to make a deal, and it turned out to be a five-year, $150 million deal.
Phillies have more moves they need to make and can make this offseason
Spending a lot of the free money to re-sign Schwarber, and perhaps Realmuto, will give Dombrowski somewhat of a pass if there are no massive, franchise-altering changes this winter. But there are still opportunities for upgrades.
Despite Dombrowski's initial Winter Meetings message, we at least know that they have to sign or trade for at minimum one outfielder. With Nick Castellanos on his way out the door, they currently have Brandon Marsh, Crawford and perhaps Kemp and Weston Wilson as outfield options. That group is begging for an upgrade.
As for other spots on the diamond, don't hold your breath.
Along with the outfield being an obvious need for fresh faces, there are also two infield spots that could see change: second and third base. A possible trade for Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte to replace Bryson Stott would definitely be an upgrade. It would also likely cost top prospect and pitching pieces that Dombrowski doesn't want to part with.
As for third, at this time, Alec Bohm sounds very much in the picture at the hot corner, per Bob Cooney of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
"I think (Alec) Bohm’s going to have a much better year offensively," Dombrowski said, per Cooney. "He was hurt last year for a time period. He drove in close to 100 runs two years before that. I think he’s much closer to that type of hitter than he was last year. I think that’s a pretty good addition in itself right there. It’s hard to find right-handed hitters. I’m not sure how it will fall. We’ve explored all different type of options."
Let's hope Monday's messaging turns into significant moves over the next two months, or we could see a very similar Phillies' lineup running it back but not running it back in 2026.