Phillies President Dave Dombrowski doesn’t usually hem and haw.

The guy has a gift for gab. He’s a great talker. He’s comfortable in every situation. Throw a dozen members of the media around him for an impromptu press gathering in his box at Citizens Bank Park – as happened before the Phillies 11-5 win over the Oakland A’s on Saturday – and he usually answers every question with aplomb.

Even those questions he really doesn’t wat to answer – he has an innate ability to say a lot without saying much at all that is pertinent to the question being asked, and he’s adept at going into a verbal tap dance to give that answer.

He’s also incredibly honest when he’s able to be publicly forthright, which is what makes him such a desirable interview subject for so many in the baseball media.

So, when he gathered a group of reporters around for a quick five-minute availability to tell the world officially that Ranger Suarez wouldn’t be going to the All-Star Game as originally planned because he was dealing with back spasms after his latest loss – the fourth straight subpar outing by Suarez after a slew of brilliant ones to start the season – Dombrowski was his normal, gregarious and expressive self, talking, in detail, about how the decision to not pitch unfolded step by step.


He held the media’s hand and walked them down the path:

  • He found out Ranger was having back issues when he went into manager Rob Thomson’s office postgame – as he does after every game.
  • Thomson had just found out himself once he got back to the clubhouse after the game.
  • Head Trainer Paul Bucheit had told Dombrowski that the doctors were going to look at him, but they don’t think it’s anything major and that he should be OK to start in the first turn through the rotation after the All-Star break and that he wouldn’t need an I.L. stint.
  • He wanted to talk to Suarez directly about the All-Star Game and not appearing in it.
  • He said the decision to not go to the All-Star Game was Suarez’s, and it was supported by the Phillies.

Then there was this comment from Dombrowski:

“(The trainers and doctors) did not seem overly concerned. But I will say, I know (Suarez) says he’s not worried about it and we’re really not worried about it, but he’s pitched a lot of innings and I want to make sure that he stays fresh. He’s very important for us, so taking a blow that we can build around the All-Star Game and pushing him back – I don’t think he’s going to miss a start but it wouldn’t surprise me if he pitched in the second series (in Minnesota) rather than the first series (in Pittsburgh) along with Zack (Wheeler – who is also dealing with back spasms and is missing a start on Sunday). … We have really tried to emphasize the second half of the season. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but (we have to) keep our starters fresh. We’ll come up with different plans. Maybe (Taijuan Walker) comes back and eventually Spencer (Turnbull) comes back and you work on keeping guys fresh to hopefully continue to play in October.”

It’s that last part – the part about plans to keep the guys fresh – that spurred a follow up question and one that Dombrowski answered in his usual way – but not without struggling to search for the right words at the beginning, force him to go into a different dance than the one he’s mastered after all these years.

And the question was basically this – Suarez is the fourth starting pitcher this year to miss time – although his is not “officially” time missed because he’s not missing an actual turn through the rotation. As such, knowing how important pitching is, especially starting pitching, when it comes to the pursuit of a World Series ring, does the fact that they’ve had some injuries, albeit not major ones, make him rethink how he approaches the trade deadline? In other words, despite everyone talking about fixing the outfield, or adding a bullpen arm, might the Phillies actually pursue a depth starting pitcher as well? Possibly a swing-man type who could also pitch out of the pen in the postseason?

And here’s what he said:

“Well… not necess… I mean… it’s… I can’t say it makes me rethink because it’s something you are thinking already. You’re always thinking about different possibilities of what you may do. It wouldn’t surprise me if a deal is made, or two.”

There’s no doubt the Phillies will look to lengthen their rotation – especially in August and into the beginning of September when they play 29 games in 31 days. And they might have enough, healthy, in-house candidates at that time to be able to do it.

Wheeler and Suarez will pitch next week in Minnesota. Walker is expected back at the end of the month. Turnbull some time in early-to-mid August.

There’s also Lumberton, N.J.’s own Tyler Phillips, who had a dream become a reality as he made his first start for his hometown team in front of dozens of friends and family Saturday, earning the win after throwing six strong innings and walking off the field to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd.

Michael Mercado has also shown he can start in a pinch. The Phillies will employ their first “bullpen game” on Sunday, which is always an option from time to time. Orion Kerkering will start and Mercado will pitch bulk innings in relief.

There are other minor league possibilities with major league experience – like David Buchanan and Kolby Allard – but is that enough?

From Dombrowski’s answer, it sounds like it might not be.

But Dombrowski went on further to explain that it’s going to be a very weird deadline because so many teams are still in the race for a playoff spot that there are a handful of teams who he’s not sure if they are going to be buyers or sellers. And if they aren’t selling, and the options are more limited, then it could impact what exactly the Phillies could do come July 30th.

So, even if he’d like to add some starting pitching depth, it might not be there, depending on what teams decide to sell.

“Maybe some clubs will wait until the last three, four days (before the deadline),” Dombrowski said of teams making it known they will sell. “So, I don’t think it’s making me rethink, but it’s a situation where a lot of people are just sort of analyzing their own situations first.”