‘It’s a gauntlet’: Dombrowski up for NL East battle

PHILADELPHIA — The Mets have shocked the baseball world. The Phillies like their possibilities anyway.

Mets proprietor Steve Cohen agreed early Wednesday morning to a 12-year, $315 million contract with Carlos Correa, pending a bodily, lower than 24 hours after the Giants deliberate to introduce Correa as their franchise cornerstone in San Francisco. Nobody noticed it coming. But then, who may have predicted any of this?

The Mets, who gained 101 video games in 2022, have spent $807.1 million on 9 free agent contracts this winter: Correa, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Díaz, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, José Quintana, Omar Narváez, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson and Danny Mendick. They have been the story of the offseason, even with the Phillies, who gained the NL pennant, spending $387 million on Trea Turner, Taijuan Walker and Matt Strahm; and the Braves, who gained the NL East, buying and selling for catcher Sean Murphy from the A’s. 

(Atlanta nonetheless must discover a alternative for shortstop Dansby Swanson.)

“It’s really been like that since last year,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned, referring to the eye-popping strikes coming from the NL East since Cohen’s arrival. “When you look at the clubs and what they’re doing and what they’re adding, it’s a powerhouse division. I don’t want to downplay anybody, but if you’re going to win the National League East, you’re going to play really good baseball. It’s a gauntlet.”

Dombrowski was requested if the Phillies really feel they want to answer the Mets’ under-the-cover-of-night blockbuster. 

“No, no, no,” he mentioned. “We’re always trying to put the best club you can on the field, we’re always trying to get better, but we like our club. There’s a lot of times you don’t have to be the top-spending club to be the best club. I feel really good about our club.”  

If the Phillies make any extra strikes earlier than Spring Training, they are going to seemingly be within the bullpen. Maybe it’s a big-ticket reliever. Maybe it’s the 2023 model of Andrew Bellatti, who signed a Minor League deal in November 2021, then emerged as certainly one of Rob Thomson’s most dependable relievers. 

“We really feel good with our foundation of Seranthony [Domínguez] and [José] Alvarado,” Dombrowski mentioned. “We’ve got Strahm out there now. We like how [Connor] Brogdon has continued to grow. Bellatti did a really fine job for us. Then we’ve got [Nick] Nelson and [Sam] Coonrod coming back for us. We like some of our young arms, too. There’s an opportunity for them.”

Dombrowski has a really feel for these items. He is the one head of a baseball operations to steer 4 completely different organizations to the World Series. He is certainly one of solely 5 basic managers to win a World Series title with two completely different groups. The 1997 Marlins and 2018 Red Sox gained the World Series. The 2006 and 2012 Tigers gained the American League pennant. The Phillies gained the 2022 NL pennant. 

Philadelphia gained 87 regular-season video games earlier than rolling by way of the Cardinals, Braves and Padres to win the NL championship. Still, they had been the ultimate staff to make the postseason. The Braves and Mets, in the meantime, every gained 101 regular-season video games.

But the Phillies consider they’ve closed the hole, even earlier than they acquired Turner, Walker and Strahm. They went 65-46 (.586) underneath Rob Thomson, a 95-win tempo and the fourth-best file within the league from June 2 by way of the top of the season.

“I think we’re a better club than we were last year already,” Dombrowski mentioned. “We did play at that tempo after the 22-29 begin. We confirmed that we had been able to doing that. Then, after all, we confirmed that on the finish of the yr, too, after we had been beating golf equipment with good successful data. You’re beating one of the best groups in baseball. 

“So when you say ‘close the gap,’ I think after the 22-29 mark we closed the gap. Then we’re a better club with the addition of Turner and Walker and Strahm. Every organization is different. The Phillies always had a lot of talent. We needed to learn how to win. They learned how to win, so now you have a different belief in yourself, starting off into the new year.”

Here are projected lineups for the NL East’s three heavyweights (when wholesome):

Braves
1. Ronald Acuña Jr, RF (114 OPS+ final season)
2. Ozzie Albies, 2B (95 OPS+)
3. Austin Riley, 3B (142 OPS+)
4. Matt Olson, 1B (122 OPS+)
5. Michael Harris III, CF (135 OPS+)
6. Sean Murphy, C (120 OPS+)
7. Travis d’Arnaud, DH (119 OPS+)
8. Eddie Rosario (64 OPS+)/Jordan Luplow LF (79 OPS+)
9. TBD, SS

Mets
1. Brandon Nimmo, CF (130 OPS+)
2. Starling Marte, RF (132 OPS+)
3. Francisco Lindor, SS (125 OPS+)
4. Pete Alonso, 1B (146 OPS+)
5. Carlos Correa, 3B (140 OPS+)
6. Jeff McNeil, 2B (140 OPS+)
7. Mark Canha, LF (122 OPS+)
8. Daniel Vogelbach, DH (139 OPS+)
9. Omar Narváez, C (71 OPS+)

Phillies
1. Kyle Schwarber, LF (130 OPS+)
2. Trea Turner, SS (121 OPS+)
3. J.T. Realmuto, C (129 OPS+)
4. Bryce Harper, DH (145 OPS+)
5. Rhys Hoskins, 1B (122 OPS+)
6. Nick Castellanos, RF (95 OPS+)
7. Bryson Stott, SS (84 OPS+)
8. Alec Bohm, 3B (100 OPS+)
9. Brandon Marsh, CF (116 OPS+)