J.T. Realmuto stepped to the plate with two outs in the ninth inning. He bounced the first pitch to Alex Bregman for a routine putout, and the Houston Astros finished the second no-hitter in World Series history.
The Philadelphia Phillies didn’t realize it then, but the Game 4 whimper provided the most appropriate contrast to the five home runs they hit in a 7-0 blowout one night earlier. The resulting criticism has persisted through their stretch of four consecutive berths in the MLB Postseason.
The “boom or bust” lineup has fallen short of their World Series standard as the most identifiable shortcoming that’s sunk the Phillies in four consecutive Red Octobers.
Dave Dombrowski, however, didn’t acknowledge in his end of season media availability what drones of Philadelphia fans have already decided is the fatal flaw of a Phillies era that’s fallen short of World Series dreams.
Will Phillies Run It Back in 2026?
Rob Thomson will return as the manager in 2026. After reports suggested looming changes on the coaching staff, Dombrowski announced Kevin Long and the entire staff will return with only one addition in a new Major League Field Coordinator role.
The bats went cold to allow the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the NLCS in 2023. The New York Mets made it look easy to pitch Phillies sluggers in 2024. The Los Angeles Dodgers held the same lineup in check during the 2025 NLDS.
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“Kevin Long’s an exceptionally good hitting coach… I think we have a good hitting program. You can always get better, right? I don’t think that they’re perfect by any means. They’re very good. We’re among the league leaders in so many different categories. We had the league leader in home runs, RBIs, and batting average. We were pretty high up there in runs scored. I think we improved our plate discipline this year to some extent, didn’t chase quite as much.”
-Dave Dombrowski
The Phillies finished eighth in the majors in 2025 with 4.8 runs per game. They also ranked fourth in OPS at .759 and second in batting average at .258. Dombrowski did, however, overstate the plate discipline that is not supported by a 30.3% chase rate that increased from 2024 and dropped them to 28th in the majors this season.
An offensive surge in the second half of 2025 carried the Phillies up the leaderboards, especially in power hitting categories. However, struggles reemerged in three postseason losses. Offensive cold streaks have been the key component to a 3-10 stretch in playoff games following a booming hot streak that guided them a 2-0 NLDS lead in 2023.
Dombrowski didn’t focus on the playoff shortcomings. He instead denied any gaping hole in a lineup with boom or bust tendencies.
Is Dave Dombrowski Right?
Dombrowski heavily emphasized the overwhelming strength of the Dodgers and the success of the Phillies during the regular season. He also acknowledged his lack of satisfaction with the final result.
“I think you have to keep in perspective on what happened and why you lost. You always look to get better, and we will continue to get better because we’re not satisfied at all. Our goal is to get into a series like that and win the series. But I don’t think you just break up clubs because you think (they can’t win in the playoffs).”
-Dave Dombrowski
Whether criticism of the offense is warranted or not, it’s just about the only thing on the minds of Philadelphia fans. It doesn’t mean a front office should react accordingly.
“I think again you have to be practical in your evaluation. Again, when I say this, I understand fans’ perspective. It’s emotional… but I have to keep an even keel perspective.”
-Dave Dombrowski
The Phillies haven’t performed well enough offensively in the past two NLDS. However, too many statistical breakdowns ignore their strengths and cherry pick the instances when the offense hasn’t performed.
The club has played 38 postseason games since 2022, roughly a quarter of a regular season and more than any other MLB team. They’ve scored 4.79 runs per game during the regular season and 4.29 in the postseason during that span. Their batting average has also dropped from .256 to .222, and the OPS has similarly dipped from .753 to .721.
While the underperformance has certainly contributed to playoff series disappointments, the dips are not significant relative to more successful playoff franchises with substantial amounts of games played beyond the 162. The Dodgers, Yankees, and Astros have succeeded with more hardware despite comparable offensive dips in major offensive categories. It’s a reality of facing teams with playoff-level pitching.
Dave Dombrowski compared the recent era of the Phillies to the Atlanta Braves teams that won 14 consecutive NL East titles from 1991-2005 and only one World Series in 1995. He doesn’t consider their offensive makeup to be their fatal flaw, and he’s willing to keep the majority of core players intact with the hope that more playoff appearances will eventually lead them to their World Series goals with a few more fortunate breaks.
The future Hall of Fame executive was also the architect for a successful era with the Detroit Tigers from 2002-2015. He saw a similar problem when struggling sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder couldn’t get the Tigers past the finish line in the 2012 World Series.
Dombrowski’s sentiment inevitably fell on deaf ears in Philadelphia. It included reiterations of the same responses from his end of season availability in October 2024. However, it aligned closely with the most common team-building strategies that he’s navigated successfully over decades of experience as a final decision maker in MLB front offices.
MLB Offseason Plan
Dombrowski communicated very little urgency to make changes during the upcoming offseason. However, he will evaluate aging core players, every internal option, high-profile free agents, and marginal upgrades just like any executive would.
“We’ve got some veterans. We’ve got some young guys we’re going to break in, and we’ve got some guys in the middle of their career that have done very well for us.”
-Dave Dombrowski
The perception of his words won’t necessarily dictate the Phillies’ offseason entering 2026. His minimal activity in the offseason entering 2025 was based partly on limited roster flexibility. The circumstances have changed.
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, two long-tenured core lineup pieces, will enter free agency. Nick Castellanos almost certainly won’t return. Alec Bohm will again come up in trade conversations.
“It’s a little bit different in that there’s some built-in situations for us that are going to have to be addressed. So where you go as a club is very much dictated on some of those moves that end up happening.”
-Dave Dombrowski
A fourth consecutive Red October that fell short of World Series hopes didn’t satisfy Dave Dombrowski or anyone inside the Phillies organization. Whether or not the President of Baseball Operations expressed that clearly to fans won’t define the offseason. His actions will.