Phillies President Dave Dombrowski spoke to the media on Tuesday, marking the end of the 2024 season, and giving us the first look ahead to 2025.
Dombrowski said he didn’t feel the team was missing one particular piece but that it was just not playing well at the right time. He mentioned the team’s infield should be intact for next season but that the outfield, outside of Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh, could be looked at.
Dombrowski also announced he was retaining manager Rob Thomson, and extending him through the 2026 season, along with bringing back the entire coaching staff. By doing this Dombroowski is correctly placing the blame on the players, not the manager or staff.
So how can they improve the team?
“Sometimes you trade good players for good players,” Dombrowski said on Tuesday.
Bleacher Report listed 25 players who could be traded this offseason, so here is a look at five players that would make sense for the Phillies to add in a trade.
RP Pete Fairbanks, Tampa Bay Rays (Age: 30)
Fairbanks had a 3.57 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 23 saves in 27 chances last season, and he has 61 saves total over the past four years.
RP Ryan Helsley, St. Louis Cardinals (Age: 30)
He led the NL with 49 saves in 53 chances while posting a 2.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 10.7 K/9 in 65 appearances, and he also set a new single-season save record for the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
RP Devin Williams, Milwaukee Brewers (Age: 30)
In 22 appearances, he posted a 1.25 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 15.8 K/9 while converting 14 of 15 save opportunities and striking out 38 of the 88 batters he faced.
OF Luis Robert Jr., Chicago White Sox (Age: 27)
He showed what he was capable of when he played a career-high 145 games in 2023 and posted a 130 OPS+ with 36 doubles, 38 home runs, 80 RBI, 90 runs scored and 20 steals in 24 attempts.
OF Brent Rooker, Oakland Athletics (Age: 29)
The 6’3″, 225-pound slugger ranked among the AL leaders in OPS+ (165, sixth), home runs (39, fourth), RBI (112, third) and WAR (5.6, ninth), and there’s a good chance he is going to finish in the Top 10 in AL MVP voting while playing for a 93-loss team.
If the Phillies don’t retain Carlos Estévez, who is a free agent, they could look to replace him by adding Fairbanks, Helsley, or Williams in a trade.
The team might have had some interest in Robert or Rooker at the deadline but might have thought the price was too steep at that time. Now in the offseason, if they are looking to add a piece to their offense, they could go back to the White Sox or A’s and see what they might be asking.
Robert could step right into center field, replacing Johan Rojas, who Dombrowski said on Tuesday was not guaranteed to spot in 2025. Rooker would be a huge bat behind Bryce Harper in the lineup but is not a good defensive player, being used primarily as a designated hitter in Oakland.
“Our outfield is more uncertain than our infield,” Dombrowski stated. I would think a couple of guys that are part of the equation are Marsh and Castellanos and after that, we’ll take it from there.”
Dombrowski will have to get creative to make changes to this team with the entire roster signed to return for 2025 except Estévez, Jeff Hoffman, and Spencer Turnbull.
Which Phillies players are most likely to be traded?
The most likely candidates to be moved include Bohm, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, and maybe Nick Castellanos.
It should be an interesting offseason for the Phillies.
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