With the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline rapidly approaching and the end of the Phillies’ World Series window in the not-so-distant future, it’s time for Dave Dombrowski to make some moves. The Phillies, as everyone knows, have a serious bullpen problem, combined with an outfield that doesn’t produce, and a roster that doesn’t hit regularly.
So, how do you fix it if you’re Dombrowski?
Dave Dombrowski
It’s clear that this team, despite its winning record, is not performing to its full potential, except for a few starting pitchers and Kyle Schwarber. The team needs an injection of life, energy, spirit, or a combination of all three.
There’ve been numerous head-scratching maneuvers made by management over the past few years, and it doesn’t seem that any of them have been successful. The Romano and Ross experiment over Hoffman and Estevez may be the most criminal of the bunch. Max Kepler would follow closely behind, except he would tell you that he’s not playing enough to show what he can do. (88.2% of the games so far this season, as of this writing)
What Dave needs to do is reach into his bag of tricks and pull off a move like he did when he was younger, getting Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins, for the Tigers. While the Phillies have restocked their once-depleted minor league system and prospect pool, that shouldn’t stop Dave from unloading a few of them for some actual talent.
What is he supposed to do if teams don’t want to unload a good player or young star? You make them a ridiculous offer. One is just below insane. You make them question why they wouldn’t accept the deal, but you ask for a little bit more than it’s worth. Once they’re thinking, you get that call back to see how you can sweeten the pot, or they can lower it down.
Is it really that simple? No. It’s virtually impossible. But, then again, when they brought Dombrowski on, the reputation he had was that he would get those types of things done.
Dombrowski’s Tenure
Has he succeeded? It doesn’t seem so, and the Phillies keep losing earlier and earlier in the playoffs. The Trae Turner deal seems like a drastic overpay, despite Turner having a fine season. Aaron Nola‘s extension was applauded until Nola fell apart early in the season before landing on the injured list, but the jury is still out on that one. Wheeler got an extension, and that’s truly a no-brainer, considering he’s close to being the best pitcher the Phillies have ever had.
Jordan Romano, Joe Ross, Max Kepler, Austin Hays, Spencer Turnbull, and Jesus Luzardo are just a few of the names that they’ve placed a lot of faith in over the past two years, and that’s not even mentioning the Taijuan Walker mess.
What Dombrowski should be doing is looking to the immediate future, as in this season, and then only two more seasons into the future. Zack Wheeler has stated that he’ll be retiring at the end of his contract, after the 2027 season, so the window is now.
Except for Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez, the big stars on the team will be in or past their mid-thirties. Turner, Castellanos, Schwarber, Nola, Wheeler, Harper, and Realmuto are all well into their thirties as we speak, and they’re not going to magically get better. The team, while enjoying a good list of young prospects, should be unloading them for players that can help now.
The answer isn’t Luis Robert Jr., Byron Buxton, Cedric Mullins, or even Mike Trout. They’re not players that will help the team in the next few years, as none of them can be counted on for health or hitting. Players like the Athletics’ Tyler Soderstrom and Mason Miller, the Angels’ Jo Adell and Zach Neto, the Rockies’ Jordan Beck and Victor Vodnik, as well as reaching out to the Rangers for Wyatt Langford or the Royals for Mikal Garcia, would all be big moves that would help in the immediate as well as the future. All of them are young enough and in the major leagues, so they could be utilized as they grow and improve.
In return, the Phillies would be giving up on some of their top prospects like Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller, Mick Abel, Eduardo Tait, Justin Crawford, or even Aroon Escobar. They would have to part with top prospects to get the type of deal done that they need. Waiting and hoping for prospects is a fool’s game to play. Abel showed promise in his first couple of starts, then seemed to fall apart, but back in AAA, he’s been pitching well. It’s time to sell high on Mick.
The rest of them? Same deal.
If they’re not ready to contribute this year and next, then sell high on their potential. When the time comes and the window is closed, sell some of the players that you have to replenish the minor leagues or see who’s developed over time, but the time is now for the Phillies. There’s no more, let’s see what happens next year because we’ve watched that program for the past three seasons, it ends each season, earlier than the one before it.
There are three days left until the deadline; it’s time for Dombrowski to earn his money.
Photo Credit: Alec Kostival
