Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies GM Talks About Lackluster Offseason

Has Dave Dombrowski done enough to help the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason?

Tyler Maher

Philadelphia Phillies GM Talks About Lackluster Offseason
Philadelphia Phillies GM Talks About Lackluster Offseason /
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Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has built a Cooperstown-worthy career out of big, bold moves. He's never been afraid to do what it takes to acquire star players, and that aggressiveness has already netted him two World Series rings. 

It's unusual, then, when a Dombrowski team has a quiet offseason.

The Phillies started strong by re-signing Aaron Nola to a seven-year deal, which seemed like an appetizer at the time, especially coming off a disappointing NLCS exit to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Instead, it turned out to be the main course, as Philadelphia hasn't done much else besides that.

With Spring Training only a week away, Dombrowski gave an interview for the 94 WIP radio station to discuss the team's underwhelming offseason.

For starters, Dombrowski confirmed that the Phillies were "very involved" in the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes. He said that some might be "shocked" by how much money Philadelphia offered him, but that Yamamoto ultimately preferred to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Despite missing out on the Japanese star, Dombrowski appears content with the Phillies' rotation and does not appear to be aggressively pursuing free-agent starters Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery.

He said he's still open to adding either of them if they "fall into your lap," but that doesn't seem very likely.

Dombrowski would probably rather use that money to re-sign Zack Wheeler instead, calling it a "priority" to do so.

He also discussed the possibility of adding a bench bat, but he doesn't seem to have many more big moves up his sleeve at this stage in the offseason. 

Philadelphia already has a championship-caliber team and has the pieces in place for another deep playoff run.

But if the Phillies fall short in October again this year, Dombrowski and co. may regret not doing more this winter.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler is a writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies. He grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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