The Philadelphia Phillies must find answers after an early exit in the 2024 Major League Baseball playoffs. The Phillies have progressively gotten worse in the playoffs each year since the 2022 World Series loss to the Houston Astros.
Many thought there would be a change in manager or hitting coach after a disappointing end to the 2024 season. Those rumors were slammed shut after the Phillies announced Rob Thomson received an extension through the 2026 season and his entire staff will be back in 2025. There is one massive upgrade the organization could make in the outfield, however.
Dave Dombrowski throws cold water on offseason Juan Soto chase
The 2025 free-agent class is loaded with star players. New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto might be at the top of the list.
Soto made his major league debut in 2018 with the Washington Nationals. He spent his first five years in D.C. and was part of the 2019 World Series team. Soto was traded to the San Diego Padres in a blockbuster deal in 2022 and was traded in another blockbuster deal to the Yankees before the 2024 season.
Soto became one of the game’s most electric players throughout his seven-year career. He’s a four-time All-Star, a four-time Silver Slugger, won the 2020 batting title and won the 2022 Home Run Derby. The soon-to-be 26-year-old has a career .285/.421/.532 batting line with a .953 OPS, 201 home runs and 592 RBI.
There have been many rumors about where Soto will be playing next year. Will he take his talents to the other New York team, or will he remain with the Yankees? Many Phillies fans hope the superstar will land in the City of Brotherly Love to fix an outfield situation that plagued the team all season. That might be nothing but a pipe dream.
“I don’t think we need to add more star players, we have about as many stars as anybody in baseball, so I don’t think necessarily we have to add more,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in his end-of-season press conference when asked about potentially adding a star player. “John is very accommodating and giving but you’re also in a position where you’re still working with the payroll and trying to make things work for you and go into the future with what you have.”
The Phillies handed out a lot of “stupid money” over the last few years signing Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola to large contracts. There has to be a point where it doesn’t make sense financially to sign players to large contracts just because they’re available.
The Phillies have one of the most talented rosters in baseball, and sometimes it’s more about finding and depending on the role players than creating a super team.
Soto is expected to land a contract between 10-15 years and north of $500 million. Could the Phillies make it work? Probably, but it doesn’t seem likely at this time.