The Philadelphia Phillies are confident in their roster, but acknowledge one area that needs improvement heading into next season.
Phillies president Dave Dombrowski recognizes bullpen needs
Phillies president Dave Dombrowski declared that the franchise needs a reliever to fortify their bullpen. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reported, Dombrowski said this on the void that his front office will look to nullify this offseason in hopes of rounding out their uber-talented cast:
“The way I look at it is we have a very good team,” Dombrowski said this week. “We won a lot of games last year. We won our division. We basically have mostly our whole club back. We’re not an aged club. I look at us as having a very good club going into next year. We’ve got four starting pitchers at the top of the rotation who are as good as anybody’s. We have a good offensive balance from the right-handed side and left-handed side.
“We need to fill a bullpen spot. But we have a really good club. We didn’t play well against the Mets. But the reality is we have a really good club and I think we’ll have a really good club next year.”
Phillies: Bullpen in danger of losing two key stars in FA
The Phillies are stacked with star talent up and down their roster. Specifically on the hill, Philadelphia has 2024 National League Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Wheeler anchoring their stout five-man rotation.
However, the Phillies are in danger of losing 2024 All-Star Jeff Hoffman and former 2023 All-Star closer Carlos Estevez in free agency. The former was ultra-efficient in late-inning play, exemplified by his 2.17 ERA and 10 saves, while the latter has racked up 25-plus saves in each of the last two MLB seasons.
The Phillies could make a power play for a 5-star reliever
Losing both talents would be a major hit to Philadelphia’s bullpen. Thus, Dombrowski could look to aggressively pursue one of several marquee relievers on the trade and free agent markets, including Milwaukee Brewers two-time NL Reliever of the Year Devin Williams and former San Diego Padres All-Star free agent closer Tanner Scott.
It appears that management will pursue a nonpareil talent to solidify their relief unit, while they also seek to move 2024 All-Star starter Ranger Suarez for a stronger fifth option in their rotation, land an elite outfielder, and trade All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm for an upgrade in the hot corner this fall or next winter.
That being said, bullpen support is high on the Phillies’ priority list and is likely to be addressed in short order following winter meetings, starting on Dec. 9.
