January 12, 2024
Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports
Phillies president Dave Dombrowski among the crowd during spring training down in Clearwater last March.
All indications show that the Phillies are pretty content with their roster heading into the 2024 season.
With two deep postseason runs behind them and one of the highest payrolls in baseball on the ledger, it makes total sense.
But it is unusual, at least during the Dave Dombrowski years, for the team to be this quiet. There are stud starting pitchers still on the market, from Jordan Montgomery to Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. The best closer in baseball, Josh Hader, is still a free agent. And the Phillies do need help in the outfield, with unproven and light-hitting centerfielder Johan Rojas slated to start the season.
The team is going to pay the luxury tax anyway, so what's a little more to improve a team that has real World Series aspirations?
The issue is, according to The Athletic's Matt Gelb, that the stacked roster makes potential additions wary of whether they'll get a chance to truly shine in Philadelphia. This goes for pitchers:
The Phillies, in discussions with player agents and other clubs, have identified pitching depth as their priority, according to major-league sources. (This is a priority of every team in January.) But, with five starters locked into their rotation, free-agent pitchers who want a better chance at cracking a big-league rotation will look elsewhere for a guarantee. [The Athletic]
As well as position players:
The Phillies do not want to be caught short if Rojas cannot produce enough to be a big-league regular on a contender in 2024. They also cannot guarantee a free agent a certain number of at-bats right now. That could eliminate them from some of the better-available upgrades in a market that is not teeming with terrific options. [The Athletic]
This really leaves the Phillies in a pickle. The can trade away a star to make room for another star — there have been light rumblings about moving Nick Castellanos. They can try and be patient and see if one of the big free agents on the market winds up available for cheap. Or they can add at the margins and give players a chance to earn a spot in spring training.
That last technique has worked a bit, at least in the bullpen, as Andrew Bellatti and Jeff Hoffman have each taken that path to earn big league roles.
Varying reports suggest that the Phillies are either totally done, or quietly still interested in making a splash. Reports have also said that extending Zack Wheeler is the priority, not adding a new arm.
It seems extremely likely that the roster that walked off the field after Game 7 collapse at home against the Diamondbacks in October, will be the same one that trots out on March 28 to face the Braves to open the next regular season.
The front office seems more than willing to wait until the summer (and the trade deadline) to find out whether that was the right move. Phillies fans will just have to do the same.
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