Dombrowski says Phillies won't add starter before Opening Day, unless they do

Dave Dombrowski, the Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations discussed several topics during his Feb. 7 guest spot on the SportsRadio 94WIP Morning Show with Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie.

Entering the offseason, the Phillies needed a No. 2 starting pitcher with Aaron Nola a free agent. Philadelphia re-signed him to a seven-year, $172 million extension in November — a move that remains their biggest of the offseason.

Phillies not looking to add another starter... but they still might

To be fair, the Phillies didn't have any other primary needs on their roster. Any other signings would be for depth purposes. Despite their lack of moves, Philly has been mentioned as a suitor for free agents or trades. Dombrowski commented that he's happy with the rotation and isn't looking to add another starter.

"Well, we're happy with our rotation, and when you look at it in all the analytical aspects of it, too, I think they ranked us the number one rotation in baseball, so that's pretty good," Dombrowski said. "And a lot of things are at least in the top three. So we like our rotation."

"We like it with Zack, we like it Aaron Nola coming back," Dombrowski continued. "Suarez is a really good pitcher. We'd like to get more innings out of him during the regular season and we think we can do that. Taijuan Walker's are really good three, four type of starter, he won 15 games for us, he pitched 170 innings. And if you're gonna give Sanchez the opportunity."

But then he quickly added on a caveat that the Phillies wouldn't be opposed to signing a starter if an opportunity presents itself.

"So I can't tell you that somebody doesn't fall in your lap at some point, and you say, 'Gee, that's an opportunity you can't turn down.' "

Not everyone believes the Phillies are done

SportsRadio 94WIP's Howard Eskin said during his Thursday guest segment on the Morning Show that he believes the Phillies will add a starter or a reliever or both with the club's rumored interest in acquiring Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase.

"They're going to get a pitcher, whether it's a starter or a reliever, or both," Eskin said.

So, what will it be?

Based on Dombrowski's recent comments, the Phillies will be diligent in improving the team, whether in free agency or via trade. If Philadelphia isn't willing to meet another club's asking price, such as in the rumored deal involving Clase, then a deal won't transpire. If Philly doesn't offer the right deal to a free agent pitcher such as Jordan Montgomery, then a deal won't happen.

Following the re-signing of Nola, Dombrowski felt the club took care of its pitching needs regarding the starting rotation. If a trade or free agent signing makes sense for the club, they will pursue it. If nothing happens, that appears to be fine with the organization as well.