‘We want to be great’: Rob Thomson, Phillies brass aim no lower than World Series title
The playoff run was more 1993 than 2007, they say, despite the presence of the Dodgers, Braves, and Mets. It's World Series or bust, luxury tax be damned. OK. I'm buying. Are you?
It wasn’t quite Doug Pederson’s “New normal,” but it came pretty damned close.
Eleven days after Nick Castellanos weakly flied out in foul ground and ended the most thrilling and unexpected postseason ride in Philadelphia history, the brain trust that brought the Phillies within two wins of its third World Series title sounded confident that playoff baseball is back to stay.
“We’re close,” said president Dave Dombrowski, the two-time champion hired by owner John Middleton just 23 months ago to “get my [bleeping] trophy back.”
On Wednesday, armed with the depressing news that reigning MVP Bryce Harper will have elbow surgery next week, Dombrowski, general manager Sam Fuld, and manager Rob Thomson appeared in press conferences at midday to deliver this optimistic message from Middleton:
Get used to Red Octobers.
The same message will be delivered come February at spring training.
For Thomson, a baseball lifer who’s been around winners most of his career, a team that goes .500 has had a “good season.” A playoff team has had “a really good season.” If you win the World Series, it’s a “great season.”
Pause.
“We’re not looking for really good,” he said. “We’re looking for great.”
Great?
“That’s going to be the focus of what I talk about a lot to the players. We don’t want to be just good. We don’t want to be really good.”
Pause.
“We want to be great.”
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Ignore the 101 wins the Braves and Mets each compiled while the 87-win Phillies backed into the postseason with the third wild-card slot, the No. 6 seed. The Mets collapsed and the Phillies beat the Braves in the NLDS. Ignore the Dodgers’ 111 wins coming off a World Series title.
Middleton’s willing to exceed the luxury tax again.
The Phillies will pursue a blockbuster deal with the bumper crop of shortstops, led by Trea Turner.
So? So, buckle up for more fall ball.
Faith
All of this requires belief. The Phillies exude belief.
The Phillies believe Castellanos’ regression in 2022 was an aberration.
The Phillies believe that Rhys Hoskins, errant, streaky first baseman, was plenty, and hope for as much in 2023.
They believe that, with a rested Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola at the front of their rotation and with a potent lineup that might again have to produce without Harper for an extended period, the Phillies look at 2022 as a launching pad.
They believe it’s more like 2007, when the Phillies began a five-year playoff run, than 1993, when the Phillies made the playoffs, then began a 13-year playoff drought.
“Our existing roster is very good. We all know that. It’s a good club,” Thomson said. “I think Dave, Sam, the organization, John Middleton are prepared to spend some money and go out and make the team a little bit better.”
That clearly means an upgrade at shortstop, where Thomson said he’d start Edmundo Sosa if the season began tomorrow. At any rate, Bryson Stott, who can play third, short, or second, seems like the franchise’s long-term second baseman at the moment.
Stott, a lefty hitter, will start every day somewhere. Brandon Marsh, a lefty hitter, will be the everyday center fielder. No more platooning.
The Phillies love their foundation.
Outlook
How big is the window? Well, Wheeler, 32, is under contract for two more seasons. Nola, 29, can be a free agent after 2023, but Dombrowski said he wants Nola to be a Phillie for a long time.
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They love José Alvarado, the 100-mph head case, and Seranthony Domínguez, the 99-mph IL stint, as cornerstones of the bullpen. They’ll spend money there, too.
Thomson said he considers the minor league system “underrated,” and that system is led by 19-year-old Andrew Painter. Dombrowski said he hopes a young pitcher claims a spot in the 2023 rotation, and with all due respect to Bailey Falter and Cristopher Sánchez, they lack Painter’s pedigree and stuff.
There was little precise projection about what Harper’s inevitable absence will mean, or what it will look like. The Phillies might replace Harper’s lefty power with rookie Darick Hall. They might juggle the infield.
They might do a lot of things, but the core of the lineup Philly fell in love with — Kyle Schwarber, Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto, Harper, Castellanos, Marsh, and Stott — will be the lineup the team expects to carry it into many future Octobers.
“This success can be sustainable for a long time. The people we have in place right now is a really good club; I think we’re going to get better and better,” Thomson insisted. “And — and — the fact that we have the experience of playing in the postseason, playing in the World Series, that means a lot to the players.”
A World Series run also makes 2023 a lot easier to sell.
OK. I’m buying.
Are you?