Phillies boss hints team won’t pursue another superstar in free agency

The Philadelphia Phillies need to turn the page on the offseason after their season ended in shocking fashion for the third straight season

After an unlikely trip to the World Series in 2022, the team advanced to the NLCS and lost in seven games in 2023. With a better regular season in 2024 than the previous two deep playoff runs, hopes were high for Philadelphia to return to baseball’s biggest stage. But it wasn’t meant to be as they fell in their first series against the New York Mets and dominated the NLDS in four games.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson were met at the season-ending press conference by fans hoping the team will make big in free agency and potentially go after the biggest names available *cough, cough, Juan Soto*, slapped with a dose of reality, with Dombrowski essentially pouring cold water on the possibility.

“I don’t think we need to add more star players, we have as many stars as anyone in baseball,” Dombrowski said. “[Owner John Middleton] is very accommodating and generous, but you’re also in a situation where you’re still dealing with payroll and trying to make things work for you and move forward with what you have… We had eight All Stars, right? That’s more than anyone in baseball… I don’t necessarily think the answer is always a star player. I’m not saying we won’t get one, but I don’t think it’s a necessity.”

What happens to Soto will impact the entire league throughout the entire season. Many believe the most likely outcome is that he re-signs with the Yankees and forgoes an exit, which would likely be the second-best scenario for the Phillies. Some have speculated that the Soto sweepstakes will benefit the Yankees and their crosstown rival Mets. If the superstar ends up in Queens and the NL East, it would be an absolute disaster for Philadelphia.

Soto is just a week away from turning 26 and is arguably the best hitter in all of baseball. Additionally, he has a proven ability to perform when the lights are brightest, leading the Nationals to the World Series in 2019 in virtually his second year of baseball. It’s a nightmare that he ends up with the Mets for the next decade after they just beat Philadelphia with ease.

If Soto does indeed leave the Yankees, the Phillies cannot be outbid by their division rival.