Phillies brass spoke to the media Thursday for the annual post-mortem after the team once again fell short of making the World Series, falling in three games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Divisional Series.
Dave Dombrowski, the team's president of baseball operations, spoke first and was followed by manager Rob Thomson.
The overall theme from both was that the Phillies aren't likely to undergo massive change despite their second straight NLDS exit and another cold playoff showing from the club's bats.
Dombrowski and Thomson both said the Phillies played better against the Dodgers than they did in last year's NLDS loss to the Mets, and that the Phillies are closer to being a championship team than perhaps the public believes.
"We battled them," Dombrowski said. "I think we're in the same neighborhood. But we didn't beat them, and we have work to do in order to do that."
In terms of hard news, Dombrowski said Thomson will not only return as manager in 2026 but with at least one more year added to his contract, through 2027.
Here are the main takeaways from the press conferences:
Help for Topper
While there won’t be any replacements or reductions to the coaching staff, there will be an addition – a new bench coach to sit beside Thomson, someone who Dombrowski hopes can make the process "a little bit better." The bench coach will come from outside the organization.
Thomson said the idea was Dombrowski’s, but not because of any managerial decisions made during the NLDS – some of which were very questionable or just backfired. He said Dombrowski had first suggested it last offseason.
"It makes us maybe a little bit stronger to have that type of individual on the staff," Dombrowski said.
Thomson said he would be very involved in the search and added that the coach could give “a different perspective.” When asked if the hire would be a former MLB manager, Thomson said, “possibly.”
Dombrowski also announced that current bench coach Matt Calitri will move to the Major League Field Coordinator role.
Schwarber a 'priority'
Not surprisingly, Dombrowski said re-signing free agent DH Kyle Schwarber would be a “priority” for the team. His tone suggested that the Phillies will do everything in their power to bring back the NL home run champion, who just slashed .240/.365/.563 and posted career bests with 56 dingers and an MLB-best 132 RBI.
“We would love to bring Kyle Schwarber back,” Dombrowski said. "He knows that."
But he and Topper didn’t seem to forecast major changes. They praised the core of the team – Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, the starting rotation – and expressed confidence that the Phillies could still get the job done without making a seismic transaction.
Dombrowski did seem to hint that outfield prospect Justin Crawford was ready to contribute at the big league level after an incredible season at Triple A Lehigh Valley.
As for Nick Castellanos, who publicly criticized Thomson on multiple occasions and was benched for a game for one of those comments, Dombrowski was interestingly vague on outfielder's future.
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"We'll see what happens," Dombrowski said, who later added that he addressed the issue behind the scenes during the season. Thomson said he's never been one to hold a grudge, but Dombrowski's tone sounded different than Thomson's.
Castellanos still has one year left on his deal at $20 million in 2026. He slashed just .250/.294/.400 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs.
Bryce Harper sticking at first base, so…no Pete Alonso?
Bryce Harper has suggested in the past year that he’s willing to move back the outfield to accommodate any first baseman the Phillies might bring in to improve the club.
It just so happens that slugging Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is a free agent this offseason. Alonso is coming off a 38-homer, 126-RBI season.
But Dombrowski basically slammed the door on connecting the dots, saying that he sees Harper as the team’s long-term first baseman and adding that Harper’s past comments were more related to the team potentially adding a first baseman before the trade deadline.
On a separate Harper topic, when asked if Harper is still an elite MLB player, Dombrowski admitted that Harper didn't have an "elite season" and that "we only find out if he becomes elite or continues to be good" before comparing Harper to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, a nine-time All Star whose production has dipped over the past two seasons.
Thomson struck a different chord, saying that Harper "is highly motivated to have the best year of his career next year." Harper slashed .261/.357/.487 – his lowest slash line as a Phillie – with 27 homers and 75 RBI in 132 games.
José Alvarado will be back
It was a rough season for power reliever José Alvarado, who was suspended 80 games for a violation of MLB’s performance-enhancing substance policy, then suffered a forearm strain in September that ended his regular season. He was already ineligible for the postseason because of the suspension.
The Phillies have a $9.5 million club option on Alvarado in 2026. Without making anything official, Dombrowski essentially told the media that the 30-year-old left-hander would be back next season, saying he’d be “surprised” if Alvarado didn’t return.
Thomson said he’s still “bullish” on Alvarado, who pitched just 28 games in 2025 and finished with a 3.81 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.
“I love his energy,” Topper said. “I love his stuff.”
Optimism about Zack Wheeler's comeback
As we detailed, the history of pitchers coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery isn't great. But Dombrowski said he's confident that Wheeler, the team's ace, should be back on the mound in May, if not earlier, and will still be the dominant version of Zack Wheeler when he's ready to pitch.
Dombrowski said Wheeler's rehab will start next week, and that "he feels fine" and the expectation is that Wheeler can be pitching in a regular-season Major League game within that six-to eight-month span. Wheeler is under contract for two more seasons.
"As I've learned more about it, the difference in the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome [surgeries] that there are," he said, "I feel much more optimistic than when I first heard that statement made when he first had it, that there was a difference between them and they feel pretty comfortable that he should be able to come back in that six to eight months with the same ability he had in the past."
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