Four Phillies offseason titles worth knowing and one philosophical thought

In their pursuit of that final step, the worst thing the Phillies can do is lose sight of the consensus that led them to the precipice. No play in baseball has more impact than a long ball that lands on the shady side of the fence. No skill is more valuable than being able to hit those balls. Dave Dombrowski and Rob Thomson can talk about chase rates and contact percentages until they’re blue in the face. But their desire to improve in these departments should not come at the expense of mingers.

Dingers wins the ball. Dingers win the playoff series. Dingers win championships.

For what it’s worth, Tony Gwynn never won a championship. Ted Williams never won a championship. Rod Carew has never won a championship. Wade Boggs won his only championship at age 38. It doesn’t really mean anything, but I found it interesting. Williams would add some value to the Phillies’ lineup. If the next one is there, they should probably look into it.

Any conversation about the Phillies’ offseason strategy should keep dingers at the forefront.

Dingers, dingers, dingers.

The Phillies didn’t hit enough against the Mets. That’s why they lost. The Mets hit a lot of them. That’s why they won. Of the 23 runs the Mets scored against the Phillies in the NLDS, 12 were home runs. In all, the Phillies scored 12 runs, four of which came on home runs.

This is not a coincidence. This is the way of the world.

Look at World Series. The Dodgers and Yankees combined for 49 runs. Only 19 of them were scored by something other than a home run. Look at the postseason as a whole. Nearly half of his 357 runs scored this October have come on home runs (170 of his 98 home runs in 37 games).

I’m not trying to downplay the other concerns that Dombrowski and Thomson will be looking to address this offseason. You could certainly argue that the biggest weakness of the Phillies lineup is that it is too much of a monoculture, too many players looking for the same pitch, over the same part of the plate, too few players who can hit a pitcher who throws different heights in other places There’s a lot of truth to that, and very little that a lineup full of veterans can turn into different hitters.

I’m not trying to minimize any of this, and I’m not saying the Phillies shouldn’t take these things into consideration as they look to add to their roster. I’m just saying they shouldn’t overcorrect.

Four storage names.

1) Brendan Donovan, reliever, Cardinals

The Cardinals can look to 2025 as a year to reset. Donovan ranks pretty low on the list of players a rebuilding team wants to move. At the same time, he’s a guy that a team like this would be willing to part with for the right price. At 27, he is not exactly young. And he doesn’t present himself as a superstar who is the central figure. But his strikeout rates are the best in the class with a 12.4% strikeout rate and a 9.4% walk rate along with excellent on-base numbers. He is also a right-handed hitter who can play second, third or corner in the outfield. If you had to pick a player to add to this Phillies lineup, it would be Donovan.

2) Anthony Santander, right winger, free agent

Very inspiring for the prelude you just read. Santander’s top numbers suggest he would be the same: a speedy, all-or-nothing player whose best player could be Nick Castellanos. Which may be true. Santander’s run rate in 2024 ranked in the worst 15% of outfielders with at least 200 plate appearances. Thus, he comes into contact. His outfield contact percentage ranked sixth among 148 outfielders (Castellanos: 120th), and his total contact percentage was in the top 20%. Not many players have hit 44 home runs in a season like Santander this year. Much depends on the market. If he ends up agreeing to a short-term deal, he’ll be exactly the kind of guy the Phillies shouldn’t rule out.

3) Randal Hrychuk, right winger, free agent

I still don’t understand why the Phillies thought it was wiser to give Vit Merrifield four times more money than the Arizona Diamondbacks ended up giving Hrychuk. He ended up having a phenomenal season as the Diamondbacks’ rotational outfielder with a .373 batting average, which ranked eighth among outfielders with at least 200 plate appearances. He saw significant improvements in his strikeout numbers and set a career high 7.2% walk rate.

4) Jonathan India, second baseman, Reds

Much depends on whether one is from India, Bryson Stottor Trea Turner could fill in at third base. If so, Alec BohmAn exchange to India would make some sense. India’s walk rate skyrocketed last year, and he’s 27-for-31 in stolen base opportunities over the past couple of seasons. This could be one of those rare one-on-one exchanges that will interest both teams.