Dave Dombrowski went in front of reporters today and said that he was content with the Phillies roster and confirmed suspicions that once Bichette went elsewhere and JT Realmuto was re-signed, the offseason was effectively over. He’s obviously lying with his smug confidence, but that’s hardly a condolence. What a disaster.
The Phillies are coming off a division title and were maybe the 2nd best team in baseball headed into the post season, but there isn’t an honest fan out there who will tell you they are excited about the direction of the team. This team couldn’t hit and running it back was simply not an option. Well, despite needs in the outfield, bullpen, possibly the rotation, and the infield in need of an upgrade, running it back is exactly what the Phillies did. Sure, some of the names have changed, but the reality is the same, if not worse.
The Not Quite Good
Even the good moves came with their own problems. Take Brad Keller for example. His 2/$22m deal was a very good one. No complaints from me on that one. He should make for a dependable, high-end setup man for Jhoan Duran. Of course, because of our self imposed budget, that meant Matt Strahm was traded basically for salary relief. Instead of stacking bullpen depth, the Phillies basically swapped out one good arm for a slightly better arm. As someone who remembers trading for Roy Halladay and jettisoning Cliff Lee the same day, I know it did not have to be this way.
Without Kyle Schwarber, the team would have been seriously lacking in the power department. Locking him up a year ago for a 4/$100m contract would have been great. Instead, a position breaking 5/$150m contract brings everyone’s favorite Indiana teddy bear home. The problem is that Kyle is almost 33 and is limited to DH only. What happens if someone (like Bryce Harper) has an injury where he can’t throw but can hit (like Bryce Harper)? I guess it’s Schwarber back to the outfield or 1st base then, where he is a total mess. Awesome. I love Kyle, but this money could have been used much better.
The Bad
It was clear from the start of the offseason that the Phillies had no intention of bringing back Nick Castellanos. He was terrible last year. Despite him still being on the roster, no one expects him to stick around. They are still hoping someone will give some kind of salary relief by taking him off their hands. It is not going to happen. So, with Castellanos still on the roster, the team decided to spend $10m on Adolis Garcia who is basically Castellanos at the plate (but miles better in the field). Essentially, they turned a bad $20m hitter into a bad $30m hitter since they can’t get off the salary. Wonderful.
By spending that $10m on Garcia, that meant that the team was out on bringing back Harrison Bader or doing anything else in the OF. The plan is to roll with Justin Crawford at CF, a position he is apparently not good at. I’m all for the kid playing, but somehow our OF is worse now than last year! How is that possible??? Garcia was DFA’d by Texas and the Phillies STILL gave him the 6th biggest OF contract. Was his market really that robust? Of course not. That’s $10m not going anywhere else on the roster. It’s the Max Kepler deal all over again.
Had they waited (and there is no reason to think they couldn’t have), they could still be in the Harrison Bader, Eugenio Suarez, or even Cody Bellinger markets right now. The OF options weren’t great, but we did not have to jump the gun on Garcia just to burn cash.
The Ugly
Losing out on Bichette was bad, especially since he went to the Mets, but this is mostly because he would have filled a big need in the lineup. They didn’t get over the finish line and that happens. It sucks, but it’s fine. The Ugly part is that all of our eggs were in the Bichette basket. The idea was to use the $15m they weren’t paying Realmuto and the $10m earmarked for Alec Bohm to give to Bichette and Bichette only. I say that because they didn’t bid on Alex Bregman (5/$175m), Ranger Suarez (5/$130m), or anyone else at the upper part of the market. Once Bichette signed with the Mets, there was nothing else to do. Nothing else, but resign JT Realmuto.
I’ve heard the arguments. “JT is great with a pitching staff” and “we can’t have Rafael Marchan as a full-time catcher.” Ok, I’ll come to you on this. Who else was giving him 3 years? Who else was giving him $15m in a year? No one! I know this, because he was still available. Yes, the catching market was bad this year, but here’s another truth, the market was just as bad for catchers. What do I mean? No other contenders had an opening at catcher this year. No one was so desperate that they would give a 35-year-old with a noodle bat anywhere near 3/$45m! JT needed the Phillies just as much as the Phillies needed JT. Maybe someone would have given him 2/$20m since there is no indication that anyone but the Phillies offered him 3 years. His bat is already below replacement. Now we get to see how long the defense lasts. This isn’t just a waste of $5m or so this year, it is a waste of $10m next year and probably $15m the year after that. And the team wonders why it is always short on cash.
The ブサイク(“Ugly” but Japanese)1
For years, the Phillies have stressed the importance of the Japanese market. This year, there was a power hitter (Munetaka Murakami), all-around player (Kazuma Okamoto), and a pitcher (Tatsuya Imai). All of them signed for well under projections. Were the Phillies in on any of them? It sure as hell didn’t seem like it.
I understand that some teams were scared off by Murakami not being able to hit a fastball, but 2/$34m to the White Sox? That’s nothing. Okamoto goes to the Blue Jays for 4/$60m where he could play 3rd base or the outfield. $15m per season for him would be much better than Garcia or Bohm at only $5m more. The worst though is Imai and the 3/$54m deal he signed with the notoriously cheap Houston Astros. THAT’S A BETTER DEAL THAN TAIJUAN WALKER!!!
Are you telling me that after years of begging Japanese players to come to Philadelphia you were outbid and outclassed by the White Sox, Blue Jays, and Astros? All of these guys will make up their salaries in marketing damn near immediately. Plus, they would give the team the all mighty presence in the East that they have been desperate for. Worst of all though, we could use them to improve the team. Instead, we are going with Adolis Garcia and Alec Bohm. I just can’t believe it.
Running it Back
We are basically paying even more for Castellanos, have a worse rotation without Ranger Suarez, and maybe a slightly better bullpen with Keller. There is still no 4th best hitter in the lineup and Alec Bohm is still here. Worst of all though, all of us are out on this team already. The thought of getting Bichette was exciting. Adding a 27-year-old .300 hitter and .800 OPS guy to this lineup seemed like exactly what we needed. It was rebuilding, it was contending, it was exciting, it was prudent all at once. Then…nothing. The Phillies took us to the toy store and showed us what the other kids were getting before going home empty handed. “You have enough toys” is what old man Dave Dombrowski told us, “You don’t need anything new.”
- There is a strong chance that my Japanophile sister-in-law told me something incorrect to make me look dumb. It’s a pretty good move by her if she did. ↩︎
Philly Front Office 
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