October 05, 2026
John Geliebter/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Dave Dombrowski is under quite a bit of pressure right now.
The Phillies have leaked it to a few outlets that Dave Dombrowski will not only be back in 2027 as president of baseball operations, but he'll be extended, too.
At 70 years old, he has pedigree and has had success with other franchises, as well as the Phillies.
And after five consecutive postseason berths, you can't say Dombrowski isn't at least in part responsible for the sustained success.
But the Phillies appear more and more flawed every year, and have achieved less and less in subsequent postseasons, most recently with their three-game loss to the Braves in the Wild Card series.
The question really isn't whether Dombrowski is capable of building a contending roster. It's whether he's capable of manipulating and molding this particular roster into getting back to a World Series. Has he dug a hole too deep for him to climb out of? Is Phillies managing partner John Middleton too close to Dombrowski to make an unbiased decision?
Here are a few arguments for both sides:
• Is it his fault that the team's biggest offensive acquisitions in each of the last two seasons — Harrison Bader and Luis Arráez — each looked great for a couple of months before getting injured and missing (or being total non-factors in) the postseason?
• Building a bullpen is hard. Proven back end hurlers Orion Kerkering and José Alvarado just fell apart. Brad Keller got hurt. Was that preventable?
• Jhoan Duran is one of the best closers in baseball. He was acquired via trade in 2025.
• Did Dombrowski dodge a bullet by not signing Bo Bichette to a monster contract with no opt outs?
• He's helped build one of the best starting pitching staffs in baseball, all of whom will be back in 2027.
• He seems extremely averse to making monster deadline moves, when those sorts of moves could get the team over the edge.
• There is really no excuse whatsoever for how bad the bullpen is on paper, and it being bad in actuality has been predictable year after year.
• Dombrowski's free agent outfield acquisitions, ranked:
That's four guys, seven combined seasons, $128 million and 0.4 total WAR.
The Phillies started Game 1 of the postseason with Bryan De La Cruz and Derek Hill starting in the outfield alongside Bryce Harper. Just why Dombrowski can't sign a good outfielder is anyone's guess.
• Trea Turner is under contract until 2033 and is making too much money to be traded.
• The Phillies haven't really invested much in having a good bench, and with an aging roster it's a miracle it's hasn't hurt them more. They entered the postseason with three catchers on their roster.
Whether we like it or not, he's going to get another try. He knows this roster, and he should know more than anyone else what is needed to help them compete, for real.
What do you think?
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