Last offseason, Phillies team president and ultimate decision-making head honcho Dave Dombrowski made the calculated decision to run back the 2023 Phillies in ‘24.
Up until the final week of the season, that appeared to be a wise strategy.
Sure, he added some pieces here and there, but this year’s Phillies team won 95 games and their first division title in 13 years, mostly with the same folks who reached the postseason the previous two seasons but ultimately fell short of the grand prize.
But a mediocre second half, culminating in a bitterly disappointing loss to the hated New York Mets in the divisional round of the playoffs, ended any chance of a World Series, and Dombrowski almost certainly will be retooling this team for another crack at the big prize next year.
One thing that won’t be changing is the coaching staff. The team announced Tuesday morning that it had extended manager Rob Thomson through 2026 and retained the entire coaching staff.
Make no mistake, this is still a very good baseball team. They do not need to tear it down to the studs and start over. What’s called for is a skillful retooling, which will be difficult given they already have $262.5 million tied up in players who will be under contract next year. Most of the core over the last three years is signed through next season, so any changes Dombrowski makes to the lineup will almost certainly involve moving on from players the fanbase has grown to love.
On the last edition of Hittin’ Season, we discussed which players are certain to stay, and who might be on the move elsewhere.
LOCKS TO STAY
The following players aren’t going anywhere, either because they’re still highly productive or have contracts no teams will want to take on.
- Bryce Harper
- Trea Turner
- Kyle Schwarber
- J.T. Realmuto
- Zack Wheeler
- Aaron Nola
- Cristopher Sanchez
- Matt Strahm
- Orion Kerkering
While Schwarber and Realmuto are on the final year of their deals, the rest of the core is locked up for the foreseeable future, and all but Realmuto are still playing at a very high level. The Phils have no viable alternative to Realmuto at catcher, although we should expect him to play less in 2025 with Rafael Marchan getting more starts.
PROBABLY STAYING
- Nick Castellanos
- Bryson Stott
- Edmundo Sosa
- Tanner Banks
- Johan Rojas
It’s hard to see anyone giving the Phillies what they would need in return for someone acquiring Castellanos, given how he emerged as one of the most consistent hitters on the team in the final four months and was perhaps the only player in the postseason to consistently deliver quality at-bats. Stott’s regression in 2024 is a mystery, but he’s young and talented and the Phils will give him every opportunity to prove he’s not a weak-hitting platoon player. Sosa is the best utility infielder in the game and under contract for next year. Banks is still pre-arbitration eligible, which means he’s cheap and doesn’t cost much to keep.
Rojas’ status for 2025 probably deserves its own article at some point, but he’s likely sticking around as a glove-first backup outfielder.
THEY COULD GO
- Alec Bohm
- Brandon Marsh
- Ranger Suarez
- Jeff Hoffman
- Carlos Estevez
- Jose Alvarado
- Taijuan Walker
- Spencer Turnbull
Bohm was the starting third baseman for the NL All Star team this year, yet was benched for Game 2 of the NLDS after a prolonged hitting slump and awful demeanor on the field because of it. He’s a young, homegrown player with talent, but with Aiden Miller charging up the minors, could he be one of the players Dombrowski moves to help in other areas? He’d have to have a backup plan in place to do it (Sosa starting? Alex Bregman?).
Like Stott, Marsh regressed significantly in 2024 and is useless against left-handed pitching. The Phils’ outfield was one of the worst offensive units in baseball this year, and if Dombrowski is hoping to change up the mix, finding an everyday left fielder who can hit and grind out at-bats could mean the end for Marsh. Or, Marsh could platoon with Rojas in center, which is fine if the left fielder is actually good.
It’s hard to imagine this team without Suarez, but he is the only one of the four starters without a contract extension. Yearly injuries always seem to torpedo his season, yet he is a player that would have significant trade value. He likely stays, but it’s not unreasonable to think he’s dealt for a quality outfielder.
Hoffman and Estevez are both free agents. Hoffman is going to get a big payday, and Estevez wasn’t overly impressive. Both could walk, although I think at least one of them sticks around. Alvarado is signed through next season, but he was never himself in 2024, and I don’t know what kind of confidence the manager has in him.
We hope Walker will be DFA’d, but he’s still owed two more years at $18 million per season. He may stick around for that reason alone. My guess is Dombrowski would welcome Turnbull back at a similar contract to compete for the fifth starter job, provided he’s healthy, but he’ll have options with more of an opportunity to start elsewhere.
SEE YA
- Austin Hays
- Garrett Stubbs
What a disastrous acquisition Hays was. He was injured twice and wholly unproductive when he was in the lineup. He’s under contract through next year, but the Phillies need to do better and bringing him back would infuriate the fanbase. Stubbs was fun, but unproductive. Vibes can only take you so far.
