Dave Dombrowski Wishes Philadelphia Phillies Would Have 'Done a Little More'

The Winter Meetings have come and gone, and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski wishes the Philadelphia Phillies would have "done a little more."

Aug 18, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Former Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski during Phillies Alumni Weekend and the 20th anniversary of Citizens Bank Park before game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The 2024 Winter Meetings are complete, and all the Philadelphia Phillies have to show for it are some rumors that have yet to come to fruition and another lackluster performance from the front office.

It has been a trend for the organization since the 2023 MLB trade deadline, which saw them trade for middling back-end starter Michael Lorenzon (though he did throw a no-hitter with the club), and back-end of the bench utility man Rodolfo Castro.

In the following offseason, the team was able to re-sign veteran workhorse Aaron Nola and bring in veteran utility man Whit Merrifield, but Merrifield was released in July and there were no other moves of note made.

At the 2024 MLB trade deadline, the "big moves" were bringing in outfielder Austin Hays and reliever Carlos Estevez. Hays was forced into an everyday role that he was not meant for and dealt with multiple injuries, and Estevez was not as good on a contending team as he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

So far this winter, the Phillies have sat out the Juan Soto sweepstakes, tried to trade for Garrett Crochet but did not offer as much as the Boston Red Sox, shopped Nick Castellanos, shopped (maybe?) Alec Bohm, and have been linked to Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Roki Sasaki, and the Seattle Mariners, but nothing has come to pass at time of writing.

"I wish we would have maybe done a little more," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said on Wednesday. "But it's not done either."

While many fans were clamoring for the club to do whatever was necessary to acquire Crochet from the Chicago White Sox, after seeing the return they received from the Red Sox for the starter, Philadelphia was right in sitting that one out.

"I'm not sure it was the right time for us to do that right now," Dombrowski said. "We have four quality starting pitchers, and we have [Andrew Painter] coming right behind them that we really like a whole bundle."

Boston sent four prospects to Chicago for the starter, including their top catching prospect Kyle Teel, their 2024 first-round pick Braden Montgomery, right-handed pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez, and infielder Chase Meidroth.

For some that seems reasonable, but it is a vast overpay for two years of a pitcher who has only one season of being a starter under his belt and a history of injuries.

There is still time left this offseason for deals to be done and trades to be made.

The Phillies are one of the teams in on trading the Houston Astros for Tucker, as well as rumored for Nolan Arenado of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The world is not ending in Philadelphia just yet.

But if the team and Dombrowski finish another period without making any transactions that move the needle, their window of contention just might be.