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Dave Dombrowski Speaks on Trade Deadline, Moving Bryce Harper Back to the Outfield
By Luke Arcaini
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Dave Dombrowski went on the “Starkville” podcast with Jayson Stark and had a lot of interesting things to say about the upcoming trade deadline, Bryce Harper’s future at first base, and more.
The Phillies have the best starting rotation in baseball. They have a big need for a dominant reliever, and they could use another bat. Dombrowski’s trade deadlines over the last few years haven’t been encouraging. 2022 was his best deadline. 2023 and 2024 were very boring for a team that can win a World Series.
Could this year be more intense? Dombrowski transcribed for The Athletic’s podcast writeup:
“We feel like we have a legitimate chance to win,” he said, with no ifs or buts anywhere to be found.
So when the president of baseball ops decides that his team has a chance to win, Dombrowski told me and my Starkville co-host, Doug Glanville, “then the answer, to me, is, you may give up a little bit more than you would want to in other circumstances. But that opportunity (to win it all) doesn’t always come. And I always tell people: Don’t take it for granted when you’re in a position where you’re in it, year in and year out.”
Stark echoed Dombrowski’s words, saying it doesn’t seem likely that the Phillies would go after multiple high leverage, power relievers. That’s not saying they won’t go after one. In fact, that’s at the top of their list. A lot of the Phillies bullpen come October will be internal upgrades. The Phillies will have seven really good starters once Red October is here. Only three or four of those will actually start a game. A mix of Jesus Luzardo, Ranger Suarez, Mick Abel, and Andrew Painter will go to the pen.
“The postseason bullpen is a lot different than the regular-season bullpen,” he said, “because in the National League this year, if you advance past the wild-card round … you play five games (in the next round, the NLDS). Well, the way the schedule is (with an extra off day), you only need three starting pitchers during that time period. So if you have five (starters), two of them can go into the bullpen as it is there. Plus, if you have additional (surplus starters), they can go into the bullpen there.”
Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN released a big trade deadline “primer” on Tuesday, with a big list of players that could be traded. The Phillies were listed in a group of “potential fits” for multiple outfielders and relievers:
I’ve said it from the jump: Pete Fairbanks makes a lot of sense to me. Dombrowski likes to trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. Fairbanks is a fantastic reliever. Guys like Jhoan Duran, Felix Bautista, and Emmanuel Clase would be awesome adds, but would Dombrowski be willing to pay the price tag?
There are some hitters that could be available, specifically corner infielders, and more specifically, first basemen. Bryce Harper said in the offseason in a conversation about Pete Alonso, who was a free agent at the time, that he would be willing to move back to the outfield for the right right-handed power bat at first base. Would Bryce still do that? It seems like he wouldn’t be closed to it, but Dombrowski is leaning towards no.
“Well, Bryce has said that… Bryce will be willing to do whatever needs to be done. And that’s one of the many things that are great about him. (But) I would really prefer not to do that.”
The biggest struggle in regards to the Phillies lineup right now is the lack of pop, along with the back half of the lineup against right-handed pitching. Kyle Schwarber is on pace for 50 home runs. Not one other player on the Phillies is on pace for 20.
The Phillies are currently rolling out Buddy Kennedy, Johan Rojas, and Otto Kemp against left-handed pitching. That won’t cut it in October. How do those targets listed above hit left-handed pitching?
- Cedric Mullins: .293/.406/.483
- Luis Robert Jr: .268/.406/.464
- Taylor Ward: .208/.263/.472
- Adolis Garcia: .226/.273/.306
There’s 36 days till the MLB Trade Deadline on July 31st. The Phillies can’t waste this starting staff, and they can’t continue to waste the Schwarber/Harper/Wheeler era. How far does Dave Dombrowski dive in? Only time will tell.
Luke Arcaini writes about the Phillies for Crossing Broad, covers the Phillies for FOX Sports The Gambler, and co-hosts "Phillies Digest" on YouTube. The wave is the worst thing in all of sports. Contact: lukearcaini8@gmail.com