Philadelphia Phillies Front Office 'Under the Least Pressure' Despite WS Chances

The Philadelphia Phillies shouldn't take this approach at the trade deadline the end of the month.

Feb 25, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld talk in the dugout before a game against the New York Yankees at BayCare Ballpark. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies returned to action on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Owning the best record in baseball, the focus out of the All-Star break is to take care of business just like they did in the first half.

If the Phillies can put together a decent stretch over the next month, they could be in a position to win the division comfortably.

In order for them to do that, however, they might have to make a move or two at the deadline. The expectation is for them to do so, as it'll solidify their chances to not only win the National League East, but be in a position to win the World Series.

The front office will have challenges over the next two weeks leading into the trade deadline, just like every contending team's front office.

While there aren't a ton of ways that they can improve, they're reportedly in the mix for an upgrade in the outfield and help in the bullpen. Contending teams can never have enough in the bullpen, so even if they add one or two arms to eat up innings, it's the right move to make.

The outfield is where things get tricky for Philadelphia, but Jim Bowden of The Athletic doesn't believe that Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies front office is under any pressure.

"The Phillies have the best team based on win-loss record (62-34), scout evaluations and many of the game’s key metrics. That doesn’t mean they don’t have needs, especially in the outfield, where they could use a long-term solution for center field and a right-handed platoon outfielder for left field," Bowden wrote.

Despite the need in center field, Bowden added that this roster is set and "strong" as is.

"As one of the favorites to win the World Series, there’s always pressure to pull the right levers at the trade deadline. But this team is pretty strong as is."

It's a fair assessment of the situation, but maybe one that Dombrowski shouldn't take. If they were to have a relatively quiet deadline, that could come back to be the right decision in October.

On the other hand, they could look back and regret not doing more. The last thing that Philadelphia wants to do in a few months is look back and wish they could've made additional moves.

Center field has been an issue since Spring Training, and at this point, not adding one would be bad work from the entire front office.