What they say: Dave Dombrowski’s End-of-Time Edition

Translated by Charles Marcano

Hey, whoa, whoa, readers What do they say?But we have nothing less than a World Series that makes Major League Baseball’s arguments laughable in the face of collective bargaining negotiations over the winter. But while the Brewers and Rays are fighting for the right model to be alive and well to overcome salary disparities, teams like the Mets, Dodgers and Phillies are left wondering how to make amends in 2027.

So, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski sat down with the media last week to dig up the debris of the 2026 war, and he offered his usual candor—always appreciated! What do they say?!—about how he intends to correct the ills that plague this Phillies roster.

But let’s start with last year’s uproar over Dombrowski’s end-of-season comments about Bryce Harper. There were two schools of thought after Dombrowski claimed that 2025 was not Harper’s chosen time, which, as it turns out, turned out to be true! Either Harper would respond to Dombrowski’s challenge to regain control of his mid-twenties, or the claims would cause irreparable damage to the relationship.

Now we have the results and… clearly neither one nor the other happened. Harper’s War in 2025 was… 3.1. His war in 2026 was… 3.1! His OPS+ of 129 in 2025 took a monumental jump to … 131. Of course, he played 30 more games, totaling 162, and it was precisely that volume that Dombrowski reported in his remarks to reporters.

“We need to give the rest of the legs a little more, if we can,” Dombrowski said.

From a fantasy perspective, that doesn’t necessarily mean a reduction in playing time. (The same is not true of JT Realmuto, which faithful readers of What do they say? they already knew). For, the big news is that Dombrowski is going to have Kyle Schwarber play 30 games at first base next season.

For those who play in leagues where the minimum to be eligible at the position is 10 games or more, Schwarber falls just short of that figure in 2024, 2025 and 2026. In fact, he’s been closer in left field than first base, but we’re still talking about an excellent pitcher who has lined up outside of utility status in most leagues. If that changes, his value goes up quite a bit in 2027, and you should adjust your rosters to redraft leagues accordingly.

A similar push could also be on Trea Turner’s way, though for reasons less to do with rest and more to do with his limitations at his starting position. Dombrowski made no bones about his defense in expressing his frustration with Turner, in contrast to the stark way he has often moved on the topic when asked about Turner on the field in previous years.

“We were very famous,” Dombrowski said. “He knows he has to improve at shortstop. And I told him that it’s really a mandate that he’s doing this. He feels he can play there, and if he plays shortstop like he did in 2025, he can continue at shortstop. But if he plays it like he did in 2026, he can’t. And he totally understands.”

One way to accomplish this within the Phillies’ 2027 roster would be to give Turner turns in the outfield against left fielders in an alternation with Brandon Marsh, whose All-Star start last year ended in the same production he provided to both the Phillies and Angels during his career.

Both Turner and Marsh posted differentials of over 100 points in OPS against lefties and righties, making the alternation between the two in left field even more attractive. Dombrowski also did not rebut the evidence in Marsh’s case.

“He seems to have gotten bigger, he’s been a more athletic player, he’s been hitting right-handed pitchers, and he hasn’t been hitting pitchers very well against pitchers,” Dombrowski said. “At this point we have to say: OK, for our part, we have to supply.”

The remedy for this could be in the house itself.

Another reason we know this is from two additions made by Dombrowski. First, not so much an isolated comment but a whole series of praise for Aidan Miller, who, to everyone’s delight, is finally healthy and playing in the Arizona Fall League. Gently, he destroys the covenant.

“We need to complement those guys with some other players,” Dombrowski said. “So that will be our goal. Some of them can come from within the organization. I don’t want to put all that weight on his shoulders, but we believe that he is a similar guy. Aidan Miller He’s a really, really good player. You see all the young people who had a jump this year and times; “Aidan Miller, when he’s fit, is as fit as any of them.”

It was hard to walk away from Dombrowski’s press conference without realizing that if he could rebuild the left side of his body, he would start with Miller and Bryson Stott. Now, as it turns out, Stott could simply return to second base to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Luis Arráez. But Alec Bohm is also a free agent, and Dombrowski notes many of the underlying metrics we’ve looked at around Stott this year that have led the organization to conclude he’s an everyday player, unlike Marsh.

“He had a really good June, July and August,” Dombrowski said. “I don’t know why he can’t be that player all the time.”

Everything indicates that the Phillies are trying to find out. Consider Stott a lock-in starter, with a position still to be determined, when making your draft league picks, and because of his 2026 season — 13 games at shortstop, 43 at third base and 116 at second base — he already gives you positional flexibility on Opening Day in 2027, whenever that may be.

But Dombrowski spoke of Miller in similar terms to what Justin Crawford did before Crawford took over the center field job and played 149 games as a rookie. Remember, a healthy Miller was probably fired a year ago by Bohm. Assuming Arizona doesn’t suffer any setbacks, Miller should also be on your 2027 sleeper list.