Philadelphia Phillies Could Author Some Major Changes After Postseason Struggles

Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has been left questioning what happened to his team in the playoffs.

Apr 10, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski before game against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies were presented with a golden opportunity in the 2024 season.

Their biggest threats to winning the National League East, the Atlanta Braves, battled injuries throughout the campaign. The New York Mets were thought to be in a transition year. At the bottom of the standings, the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins were rebuilding.

For a big portion of the season, the Phillies did look like the cream of the crop in the NL.

Some bumps in the road were hit in the second half of the year, and those were more of an indication of what was to come than people thought.

Two of the most reliable parts of their team in the regular season, their All-Star laden lineup and bullpen, but fell apart in the playoffs.

Their campaign came to a screeching hault in the NLDS against the Mets, of all teams. They lost the five-game series in four as New York bided their time against a talented starting rotation and jumped all over what had been an incredibly productive bullpen in every game.

That has led to president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, wondering what happened.

Not one to chalk it up to “anything can happen in October” means there could be some sizable changes coming this offseason.

"I never look at it as it's just what happens in the playoffs," Dombrowski said via Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "Other people say that. In our situation, we didn't swing the bats very well as a club, and our bullpen didn't pitch as well. I really don't know why our pen didn't pitch well. They were so efficient all year long. You scrutinize those things for sure."

No one is hitting the panic button in Philadelphia, but there is certainly some pause for concern.

Their core isn’t getting any younger, as the starting lineup is made up of a majority of players who will be 32 years of age or older in 2025.

In the rotation, Zack Wheeler will be turning 35 next season while Aaron Nola will be 32. There is already a need for a fifth starter, which top prospect Andrew Painter could fill, giving them some much-needed upside and youth.

The bullpen could have two voids created with Carlos Estevez and Jeff Hoffman both hitting free agency. Retaining both will be a challenge, but a shake up could have been on the horizon anyway with their playoff struggles.

It is hard to envision wholesale changes coming, but changing a piece or two is certainly possible, especially if Dombrowski is able to get younger at a few spots.