3 offseason moves the Phillies will regret not making this season

Phillies will regret not signing a legitimate closer

A closer-by-committee approach, as the Phillies seem to prefer, has its advantages and disadvantages. José Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman, Gregory Soto, Matt Strahm, and Ricardo Pinto have all had save opportunities this year for the club. The benefit is it gives plenty of relievers opportunities in save situations. Over the offseason, Dombrowski said that he feels comfortable having multiple relievers who can close games.

However, the downside of having multiple relievers close games is it seems overly reliant on matchups. Manager Rob Thomson might overthink having more than one reliever in the role rather than having an assigned closer with the setup man serving as a backup. Perhaps the Phillies will lean more on Alvarado in save situations than the other pitchers out of the bullpen as the season progresses.

Signing Josh Hader would have been costly once his contract desires were known. However, the addition would have given the Phillies a bona fide closer who would have been their unquestioned ninth-inning man. Dombrowski and the front office didn't want to pay him the kind of money that he was seeking.

The Millersville, Maryland native is off to a rocky start. In seven appearances, Hader has an 0-2 record, a whopping 5.14 ERA, a blown save, and four earned runs allowed in seven innings. Based on his start, the Phillies made a smart decision in the early going of the year by not pursuing him in free agency. However, it's only two weeks into the season, and the left-hander still has plenty of time to turn it around.

Other options the Phillies may come to regret not signing are Héctor Neris, who signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, and Liam Hendriks, who agreed to a two-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. Both relievers have previous experience closing games, which could have benefitted the Phillies.

Neris is a former Phillie who had mixed results with the club but did well with the Houston Astros, despite not being used as often in the ninth-inning role. While Hendriks is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and will not be available until perhaps the trade deadline, his recent experience as a closer could have been valuable for the Phillies late in the season.