Phillies more to blame for Dodgers' free agent bonanza than fans might think

The Philadelphia Phillies faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year's NLDS. The Dodgers won the best-of-five series in four games, but it wasn't easy. Their heavy offensive hitters struggled against Phillies starting pitching, and the Dodgers' front office looked for ways to improve again this winter despite winning their second World Series in as many years.

Phillies fans won't like it, but the Dodgers' struggles in last year's NLDS played a significant part in their big additions this offseason.

The Dodgers have had success because they constantly seek ways to get better every offseason by bringing in new impactful players, whether they win the World Series or not. The same can't be said for many other MLB organizations, including the Phillies. Los Angeles doesn't hinder itself by avoiding player opt-outs in their contracts, like Philadelphia.

Their series versus the Phillies had a lot to do with the Dodgers' offseason approach, according to The Athletic's Jayson Stark.

Dodgers think Phillies are good, felt 'lucky' to beat Phillies in NLDS

At the MLB Winter Meetings in December, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Stark that he felt Los Angeles was fortunate to beat the Phillies in last year's NLDS. The Athletic writer mentioned this during a segment on 97.5 The Fanatic's Unfiltered with Ricky Bottalico and Bill Colarulo recently.

"I was around [the Dodgers] a lot in October," Stark said. "I even had a long talk with Dave Roberts at the Winter Meetings, where he was telling me how they felt like they were lucky to beat the Phillies. They couldn't score against them and it took a couple of crazy plays, plays that nobody focuses on now for them to win. So there are a lot of ways to look at this. The Phillies are trying to take the beer mug half-full way. I would say listening to your show, it doesn't seem like the fan base is quite taking it that way."

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned the close plays that made a difference in the series for the Dodgers during his end-of-season press conference in October.

Despite winning their second consecutive World Series last year, the Dodgers haven't been lackadaisical in their approach to getting better. They added the best reliever available in free agency, Edwin Díaz, to a three-year, $69 million contract on Dec. 12, and signed the best free agent outfielder, Kyle Tucker, to a four-year, $240 million deal last week.

Fans may believe the Dodgers are ruining baseball, but their front office constantly finds ways to improve. How much can you blame them for finding ways to get better every year?

The Phillies, meanwhile, haven't adopted the same approach to acquiring other major new players this winter after losing in the NLDS for the second straight year. They expressed interest in signing Bo Bichette but were unsuccessful in reaching a deal. They've re-signed Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, but both players have been with the franchise for the last several years, during which they've won zero World Series.

Their biggest new addition is a one-year, $10 million deal for Adolis García. They were willing to offer Bichette a long-term deal, so why not make a similar offer to someone else who would guarantee an upgrade to the lineup?

The Dodgers have proved yet again why they're MLB's best-run organization. They make big additions even after winning their second consecutive championship.

Phillies fans and other fan bases may not like it, but Los Angeles' approach should be respected. They may be the modern evil empire, but that's what comes from success and constantly seeking improvements, no matter if they win or lose. If the Phillies front office operated like this, fans would love every minute of it.