The Philadelphia Phillies had the second-best record in baseball in 2024 behind only the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The end to the Phillies’ season is something that they want to move on from quickly.
The Phillies were a .500 team after the All-Star break and lost in four games to the New York Mets in the NLDS. Their lineup, which featured three All-Star Game starters, went cold down the stretch and into the playoffs. Their bullpen, which featured two All-Stars and the seventh-best ERA in the National League, fell apart with the season on the line.
The 2024 Phillies had their flaws, but were the offseason additions enough to compete for a World Series championship in 2025?
Jimmy Rollins weighs in with simple wish after Phillies’ quiet offseason
Phillies legend Jimmy Rollins, like many fans, wishes the team could’ve done more this offseason after a disappointing end to last season.
“Everybody wanted them to do more,” Rollins said about the Phillies’ offseason in an exclusive Q&A with Kyle Odegard of Sports Talk Philly. “I wish they would have done more. I don’t know what moves there were to be made. They have budgetary reasons for why they will or won’t do things. But in all honesty, no one is going to be able to keep up with the Dodgers.”
The Phillies have one of the highest payrolls in baseball, and thanks to crossing the fourth luxury tax threshold with their offseason acquisitions, they will have to pay a 110 percent tax on all overages.
The Phillies needed to address the outfield, bullpen and No. 5 starter heading into the offseason. The front office feels like they did just that.
“I don’t think we have a glaring weakness out there,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in his first spring training press conference on Wednesday, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
The Phillies signed former Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler to a one-year deal. He projects to be an everyday left fielder and what the team had hoped Austin Hays would be when they acquired him at the trade deadline last season. Kepler is a left-handed hitter with proven power who hit well against left-handed pitching in 2024.
The Phillies’ first notable move of the offseason was signing former Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano to a one-year deal. Romano had a down season in 2024, missing significant time with a right elbow injury. He pitched in only 13 2/3 innings but hopes to return to his All-Star form from 2022 to 2023.
The team also signed veteran swingman Joe Ross to a one-year deal. He’ll look to take over a Spencer Turnbull-type role with the Phillies.
The Phillies’ biggest move of the offseason was trading for former Miami Marlins left-handed starter Jesús Luzardo. The 27-year-old missed significant time in 2024 with a back injury but is healthy and ready to go heading into 2025 with his new team.
Luzardo had a 3.58 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 32 starts with the Marlins in 2023. His addition should all but secure the Phillies as a top-two starting rotation in the majors.
The Phillies have a championship-caliber team, but it will be a tall task for any team to knock off the Dodgers. The rich got richer this offseason and all the Phillies can do is control what’s in their hands.