As the offseason passes into 2024, for Philadelphia Phillies fans who have been patiently waiting for the front office to do something — anything — since the Aaron Nola re-signing, things are moving at a seemingly excruciating pace.
Realistically, the Phillies aren’t actually sitting on their hands doing nothing, even if it feels like it to those of us stuck on the outside looking in. Like every other team in the hunt for the best available talent, they’re at the mercy of the market. So it’s not time to press the panic button just yet. There are still six weeks left until Spring Training.
With the airtight ship that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski runs, with nary a leak to be found, one could be excused for misinterpreting the lack of action for a laissez-faire attitude toward seriously improving the team. Couple that with Dombrowski’s comments throughout the offseason, in which he insists he’s content with the current roster, and it’s conceivable that some fans may have already sounded the alarm, even if just to themselves.
Obviously, Dombrowski is experienced enough at his job and more than adept at playing his cards close to his chest. Probably not someone you want to get into a high-stakes poker game with — or even a staring contest. So another big move to pair with the Nola contract won’t come as a big surprise.
But as it stands, the 2024 Phillies will look a whole lot like the squad that finished out the 2023 season being smacked back to reality by the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks. And that’s fine. The Phillies are a good team. They’ve proven as much.
