The Philadelphia Phillies are no stranger to big MLB free agency moves, but the franchise was notably absent from the hot stove headlines this offseason -- and there was a reason for the quiet winter.
The Phillies believe they have a core in place that can compete with anyone this season, even without a splashy free agent addition, because they had already done the bulk of their star hunting over the course of several offseasons by signing Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos to long-term deals.
The results since that group's arrival have been impressive: three straight postseason appearances, including a run to the World Series in 2022. But the Phillies have not held a parade at the end of any of those campaigns -- most recently coming up short in last year's NLDS against the New York Mets -- and the competition is only going to be tougher this season in the National League East and beyond.
"I looked at the power rankings ... 2 through 4 are in the NL East," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said of ESPN's preseason list. "I talked to a GM in the American League, and I told him, 'You have a good club,' but he recognized that there were four to five teams in the National League better than his."
Yet instead of overhauling a team that keeps coming up just short for the ultimate prize, the Phillies front office chose to retool with smaller moves. As the division-rival Mets signed -- or re-signed -- Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, Frankie Montas, A.J. Minter, Jesse Winker, Ryne Stanek and Griffin Canning and the reigning champion Dodgers added Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and Tanner Scott, the Phillies were content in adding depth in the form of outfielder Max Kepler, pitcher Jesus Luzardo and reliever Jordan Romano.
Although they didn't win the winter, the Phillies are right where they have been over the past several seasons: at the top of a tough NL East division. Their hot start included a weekend series win over the Dodgers in what could be an early playoff preview. In helping the team get to 7-2 to start the season.
The Phillies' top players have led the way early on with Schwarber, Wheeler, Harper and Castellanos all powering early wins, but the rest of the team is also already demonstrating Philadelphia is about more than just star power. Luzardo has shown he could be much more than a depth piece by allowing just two earned runs while striking out 19 hitters over his first twelve innings and Orion Kerkering has appeared ready to step into a larger role in the bullpen.
"When you look at our team on paper, you're still going to put us up there with some of the best teams in baseball," designated hitter Schwarber told ESPN recently. "We've got the talent. We're in the position every year, we just haven't got there. It's not for lack of talent. It's just the way the game works sometimes."
When the MLB general manager meetings began in early November, it seemed quite possible the Phillies could have a new look when they arrived at spring training a few months later. Fresh off that division series loss to the Mets, Dombrowski made it clear that the front office was going to look through every aspect of the defeat, refusing to let the idea that anything can happen in baseball keep the team from finding any potential areas to improve.
"You can't take anything for granted," Dombrowski said. "If you do, you won't make it. It's tough but if you get through it all -- and then October -- you'll deserve it."
But as the front office examined its options as the offseason unfolded, it came to a conclusion: It was difficult to find many positions where the roster could be improved. The same feeling was evident in the clubhouse when the team reported to spring training ready to make another run with a group that believes it can get a step further than it has in any of the past three postseasons.
"When you look around a locker room, you try to get better at every position," catcher Garrett Stubbs said near the end of spring training. "But when you look at this locker room and look at the guys that we have, you say, 'How do we even get better?' There's really a slim chance of getting any better in this locker room."
Though the Phillies are confident in their talent, they are also aware that many of their core players are already in their 30s and that contention windows don't stay open forever.
"I think the Dodgers have the oldest team [of hitters], so it's not like you can't win with older guys, but we've all seen how quickly things change for players in their 30s," Dombrowski said. "Philadelphia should have some urgency because the future is never promised."
Compounding the pressure to win now is the fact that some of the star additions of recent offseasons are nearing the end of their contracts. Clubhouse leaders and star players Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto are scheduled to hit free agency whenever the Phillies play their last game of 2025, giving this season a one-last-run feel for a group that has made Philadelphia an October mainstay for the first time in more than a decade.
"We don't know who is going to be here next year, so who knows -- this might be the last chance for us to win with this group," Harper said. "We have another great opportunity to do this.
"Just trying to win that last game."