Perhaps Dombrowski is Just Getting Started Shaking Up the Phillies

When Dave Dombrowski took the helm of the Phillies, it was December 11.  Arbitration decision were made.  Options were picked up or declined.  Most front offices had two months or more of offseason work under their belt.

So Dombrowski, taking a "wait and see" approach, kept most of the staff on board.  That was, until this week.

Dombrowski removed two assistant general managers and the director of player development from their positions, a rather large shakeup.  Considering Andy MacPhail will be out the door at season's end, the front office is setting up to look very different.

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Why now? The season will end soon enough, and Dombrowski will need to ask permission of other organizations for the people he hopes to hire.  He has been around long enough that he probably knows who he wants, too.

Don't expect Dombrowski to end his changes with his front office.

Dombrowski had the entire season to see what the Phillies organization actually has in terms of players on the field. His signings, though many didn't work out, were short-term deals.  $4 million to Matt Moore and $3 million to Chase Anderson won't matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of things; they were (relatively) small money deals that will expire.

But what Dombrowski saw this year really will matter.

There are plenty of flaws on this Phillies team.  Among them, the defense that has given away way too many outs, exacerbating what was a really thin bullpen at times.  Too many players who have not figured things out have stuck around, namely Vince Velasquez.

There are players that might be beloved in Philadelphia.  Among them, the likes of Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Nola.  Prospects like Alec Bohm still could figure things out.   But could any of them be on the table to move this offseason?  Absolutely.

Firing a director of player development relatively new to his job is somewhat of a bold move.  Bonifay had just two seasons under his belt and perhaps much of his work has yet to unfold.  Expect Dombrowski to be bold in constructing his roster.

Dombrowski hoped there was at the very least a path to the playoffs for this flawed Phillies roster.  They might even pull it off and win the National League East.  But whether they do or not, Dombrowski's real work is just getting underway.