Phillies: Ranking the National League East's front offices by competence level
Dave Dombrowski has turned around the Phillies organization after years being in the dark, but how do they rank compared to the rest of the NL East?
2.) Philadelphia Phillies
As mentioned earlier, the Phillies saw some dark days from 2015-2020 when Matt Klentak led the way. But as soon as Dave Dombrowski and Sam Fuld entered the fold, the entire outlook of this organization has turned. Given the blessing from Owner John Middleton to go out and sign top free agents like Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and Trea Turner while also making seemingly fringe moves like acquiring a “broken reliever” Jose Alvarado and once top prospect Brandon Marsh, the front office has turned this franchise around. After missing out on the playoffs for 11 years and making all the wrong moves, Dombrowski and company have pushed the right buttons and are heading towards their second straight playoff berth. Almost as important as making the big splashy moves, Dombrowski and co. have capitalized on smaller cost moves like the signings of Taijuan Walker and Craig Kimbrel or the trades for Brandon Marsh, Michael Lorenzen, Critian Pache and others. Assuming the players they have inked to long-term deals continue to perform as expected and if Dombrowski continues to push ownership for the freedom to acquire top talent, this team will be a World Series contender for years to come. The pitfall of this team is the lack of major prospects that are ready to contribute but with the games top pitching prospect in Andrew Painter and other highly sought after contributors like Mick Abel, Justin Crawford and Johan Rojas, they have enough prospect capital to plug holes when needed.
1.) Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves aren’t just the most competent front office and organization in the NL East, but they are probably the best in the entire league. The Braves are the definition of sustained success. They have made the playoffs five times in a row dating back to 2018, winning the World Series in 2021. Alex Anthopoulos is known for locking up his young core early and he did just that with this team. The core of their roster is all signed to long-term, team friendly deals. Austin Riley (Free Agent in 2034), Matt Olsen (2031), Ronald Acuna Jr (2029), Spencer Strider (2030), Sean Murphy (2030), Michael Harris (2033), and Ozzie Albies (2028) will all be in a Braves uniform for the foreseeable future, wreaking havoc on the league and the NL East for years to come. The farm system is ranked at 27th from MLB.com but with the majority of the team already committed, the need to replenish the farm system is not as important. The Braves will be competing for World Series for a long time, and it will be difficult for any of the NL East to knock them off the throne.