Phillies scapegoats: 1 to fire, 1 to put on the hot seat, 1 to be patient with

Philadelphia Phillies General Manager Dave Dombrowski should be on the hot seat

It's not all Dave Dombrowski's fault that this team has underperformed, but he's not exactly blameless either. Most of the offseason moves he made haven't worked out in the way he or Phillies fans imagined they would.

The Taijuan Walker signing has been disastrous so far. Walker, a pitcher who is usually way more effective in first halves than seconds, has a 5.57 ERA through his first 11 starts. This isn't enough time to call the contract a complete bust, but Walker has been an abysmal investment thus far.

While Kimbrel and Soto have been victimized by awful outings sandwiching mostly good ones, they haven't been great out of the bullpen. Dombrowski was preparing for Bailey Falter to be his fifth starter and Falter responded by pitching horribly.

While Trea Turner should get going eventually, he's been dreadful in year one of a $300 million deal. Guys like Edmundo Sosa, Josh Harrison, and Jake Cave who made the Opening Day roster have OPS figures below .700. Harrison is below .500, and Cave is in the minor leagues.

It's not Dombrowski's fault that a lot of the players who are supposed to be good have underperformed, but the players he's brought in haven't exactly lit the world on fire. I still have confidence in Trea Turner's ability to turn his season around, but there're a bunch of pitchers we'd rather see over Taijuan Walker.