Looking at biggest Phillies questions from GM Meetings

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The General Managers Meetings wrapped up this week in San Antonio, and Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski met with reporters on Wednesday to answer anything and everything that came to mind.

Here are four highlights:

1. 'Open-minded'
Dombrowski has said a few times this offseason that the Phillies need to be “open minded” in how they pursue roster upgrades before Spring Training.

He used that phrasing again on Wednesday.

“I think we’re very open-minded than what we have been in other years,” Dombrowski said. “Because even though we have a lot of good players, I think we need to be more open-minded about possible moves.”

If you read between the lines, it means the Phillies are exploring much more than just the free-agent market. They’re exploring trades. It would not be a surprise to see a key piece or two from the 2022-24 teams, and/or a top prospect or two, traded to create a more well-rounded roster.

2. Big game hunting
We wrote in Wednesday’s newsletter about why Juan Soto is highly unlikely to sign with the Phillies, although he will continue to be linked to the club until he signs because it’s better business for him to have a high-spending team like the Phils in the mix.

• Soto's top suitors, contract projections, comps & more

Asked if the Phillies expect to be big game hunting, Dombrowski said: “Put it this way, our ownership allows us to do a lot of things. But sometimes big … sometimes that’s not what you need. We have a lot of good star players on our team. So read that as you would.”

Again, reading between the lines, don’t expect the Phillies to throw everything at Soto when they believe they would be better served filling their deficiencies in other ways.

3. The rotation
The top four spots in the rotation appear solid with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez, although Suárez could be a trade candidate considering he is going to become a free agent following the 2025 season.

Say the Phillies bring their top four into camp next spring. Who’s the fifth?

“We don’t have a fifth starter right now,” Dombrowski said. “I think we have a fifth starter waiting in the wings [top pitching prospect Andrew Painter] who’s going to be outstanding. But the problem is he’s not going to be able to pitch 180 innings. So we’re going to need somebody to fill another starting pitcher’s role. And that could be internal, but we’re not going to give the spot to Taijuan Walker.”

The Phillies took a run at White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet at the Trade Deadline, which was reported extensively in July. They could try to push that across the finish line this winter. If they can’t get Crochet or another starter in a trade, they could try to sign a starter on a one-year deal. Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer would be interesting. Dombrowski has a history with both.

4. The bullpen
Dombrowski reiterated that they need to find a high-leverage right-hander. It could be Jeff Hoffman or Carlos Estévez, but both might find more money elsewhere. The Phillies could find somebody in a trade, too. Milwaukee’s Devin Williams could be dealt.

Dombrowski said if he had his druthers, he’d love to have a true closer. But asked if he needs one, he said, “No, I don’t think so.”

“I’d love to have a guy who’s good enough that you say, 'Here you go,' I don’t care if it’s a lefty, I don’t care if it’s a righty, because then you can build your bullpen around that,” he said. “But there’s not many of those guys around anymore that are so dominant.”