Grading the Phillies' December moves

A report card for Dave Dombrowski

After re-signing Kyle Schwarber to a five-year, $150 million deal earlier this month, Dave Dombrowski returned to perennial Phillies concerns: the outfield and the bullpen.

The president of baseball operations found his latest budget-friendly outfield addition in 32-year-old Adolis Garcia. Garcia capped a spectacular regular season in 2023 with a postseason for the ages, but struggled in ‘24 and ‘25. He’ll take over in right field for Nick Castellanos.

The most important new bullpen arm is Brad Kelly, a 30-year-old righthander who posted the best numbers of his major league career last year. RHP Zach Pop, LHP Kyle Backhus, and RHP Jonathan Bowlan also joined the team. Dombrowski traded Matt Strahm away in exchange for Bowlan.

Here’s a grade for each move. Let me know if you agree in the polls.

Signing Kyle Schwarber for five years, $150 million

Grade: A

It’s a big contract for a designated hitter, yes. And it probably locks this year’s Phils into looking very much like last year’s Phils.

Blowing up the roster would have been more emotionally satisfying.

But as time goes on and we get further from the disappointment of the team’s NLDS loss to the Dodgers, it’s getting easier to acknowledge that returning the key members of a 96-win club makes sense.

Other teams were willing to offer Schwarbs similar contracts, so there was no overpay. And if Dombrowski let him walk, there’s no guarantee that the Phillies could have replaced him with another huge free agent signing. It all adds up to an A.

Your thoughts?

Signing Adolis Garcia for one year, $10 million

Grade: B

If the Phillies decided in advance to allocate no more than $10 mil to replace Nick Castellanos in right field, they certainly could have done worse than Garcia. There’s serious upside here, as evidenced by the outfielder’s 2023 season with Texas: .245/.328/.508 (.836 OPS) with 39 HR and 107 RBI. He won a Gold Glove that season, then hit eight home runs and drove in a record 22 RBI in the playoffs en route to the Rangers’ championship.

Garcia hit just .225/.278/.397 (.675 OPS) across 2024 and 2025, however, with 44 total home runs. He was an All-Star and hit 31 HR as a rookie in 2021, so 2023 does not look like a complete fluke. But the Phillies will have to figure out what’s gone wrong with his swing.

In the end, he’s a similar gamble to Castellanos at the plate and a significant upgrade on defense. So I’ll give Dave a B on this one. We would all prefer a bigger outfield acquisition, but at this price point it just wasn’t going to happen.

Signing Brad Keller for two years, $22 million

Grade: A

Keller’s 2025 numbers with the Cubs sparkle: 69.2 IP, 2.07 ERA, 0.962 WHIP, 75 K, 22 BB. He’s a guy who can take on both right-handed hitters (who hit just .148 against him with a .466 OPS) and lefties (.223 AVG, .569 OPS). It’s easy to imagine him regularly handling the eighth inning before the light show hits for Jhoan Duran.

The concern is that Keller never came close to his ‘25 stats in the past, posting a 4.34 ERA from his debut in 2018 through 2024.

There are reasons to believe that last season was no fluke. Keller was utilized mostly as a starting pitcher prior to his breakout season. Pitching exclusively out of the ‘pen last year, his fastball velocity averaged 97.1 mph, up from 92.7 mph - 93.9 mph in previous seasons. And his other peripheral stats reflect dominance last season, not luck:

Yeah. That’ll play.

Trading Matt Strahm for Jonathan Bowlan

Grade: D

It’s hard to like a deal that is motivated by anything other than adding talent to the team. And the 2026 Phillies would almost certainly be better off than Strahm than Bowlan. The lefty posted a 2.71 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in 188 games during his time in Philadelphia and was something of a workhorse, even making ten starts in 2023.

Other factors were behind this decision. Primarily, Dombrowski saved $7.5 million by sending Strahm to Kansas City. Also, reports indicate that Strahm was clashing with the organization.

Bowlan, meanwhile, is a 29-year-old with a 4.32 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 37 major league appearances (34 of them in 2025). He’s big, at 6’6” and 240 lbs., and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph last year with good movement. He’s also very tough on right-handed hitters, holding them to a .182 average and a .505 OPS

I’d love for the Bowlan to make this D grade look foolish in time. But if the Phils end up one veteran arm short this season, Strahm will be deeply missed.

Trading Avery Owusu-Asiedu for Kyle Backhus

Grade: B

Strahm’s departure left the Phils thin on lefties in the bullpen, with just Jose Alvarado and Tanner Banks on the 40-man roster. So the lefty specialist Backhus, 27, fits a need. His platoon splits after making his MLB debut in June 2025 are kind of hilarious:

• RHB vs Backhus: .365/.417/.577 (.981 OPS)

• LHB vs Backhus: .139/.225/.278 (.503 OPS)

If the Phils can limit Backhus’ exposure to righties, he could be an important part of the team. Owusu-Asiedu, meanwhile, is an outfielder selected by the Phillies in round nine of the 2023 draft who hasn’t done anything interesting. Not a bad price at all.

Signing Zach Pop

Grade: C

The Phils signed Pop to a one-year deal on Monday. Financial details were not immediately made available.

Pop has a cool name, a 4.88 career ERA, and a 6.68 ERA since 2023. He’s out of options, so he can’t be stashed in the minors. I’ll generously give the signing a C, only because he probably won’t get paid much.

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Check out her recent piece on the Phillies outfield:

Do the Phillies have a bottom-5 outfield in MLB?

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