As Phillies stress continuity, outfield will be the most likely spot to bring change and lineup balance

When the bats turned from torches to ice picks in a span of five games last October, the Phillies’ remedy was to coach up a bunch of aggressive hitters to swing at fewer pitches out of the strike zone.

A year later, after a playoff ousting one round earlier, the issue remains.

So what now?

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“The reality is,” Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday, “we have a good lineup.”

OK, a few things: It was Oct. 15, six days after the Phillies got booted by the Mets in the divisional round. There isn’t much sense for a baseball executive to get into specifics about an offseason plan weeks before the free-agent and trade markets take shape.

But the Phillies also have five hitters who will make at least $20 million next season. There’s only so much, then, that Dombrowski and his front office can do to change the mix or even bring another dimension to the offense.

So, in a 45-minute news conference at Citizens Bank Park, Dombrowski stressed continuity. He announced a one-year contract extension for Rob Thomson that will take the manager through the 2026 season and the return of the coaching staff. He said Trea Turner will stay at shortstop and outlined offseason programs for light-hitting center fielder Johan Rojas and even maligned No. 5 starter Taijuan Walker.

And he tried to give context to a come-and-go offense that scored the third-highest total of runs in the National League but went missing for all but four innings of the four games against the Mets.

“This is a down time from an offensive perspective in professional baseball,” Dombrowski said. “What was the [league] average, .243 at the end of the year? Most of our hitters were better than .243. You see the scores in most of the postseason, there’s not a lot of run production taking place. So, at times, we are vulnerable to being pitched well, as are other clubs.

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“But it’s something we’ll look at. It’s something that we’re cognizant of. We’ll take a look at it to see if we can make some changes.”

Changes are inevitable, even though they likely won’t be as drastic as frustrated fans would prefer. The Phillies ran back the roster after last season, and for half a season, it looked like a brilliant move. It’s doubtful, even after 95 wins and their first division title since 2011, that they’ll do it again.

The Phillies’ payroll, calculated for the luxury tax, will come in at around $261 million, which would exceed the second threshold of $257 million. Dombrowski said he’s unsure if the payroll will increase because he hasn’t talked to owner John Middleton but added that there’s “no indication that we’re not going to continue to have an aggressive payroll.”

Is it possible, then, that the Phillies could add another star player? Juan Soto, after all, has the strike-zone discipline and all-fields approach that was lacking in the Phillies’ lineup.

“I don’t think we need to add more star players,” Dombrowski said. “We have as many stars as anybody in baseball. John is very accommodating and giving, but you’re also in a position where you’re still working with a payroll and trying to make things work with you. Would you be open to [signing a star]? Yes. But you have to be careful because sometimes it’s not only the star players. It’s also sometimes the supporting cast.”

In separate news conferences, Dombrowski and Thomson issued votes of confidence for Alec Bohm, who was benched in Game 2 of the division series because the Phillies were disappointed with how he handled a late-season slump. Thomson said he plans to text and call the 28-year-old third baseman to help rebuild his confidence.

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Dombrowski conceded that the infield largely is set in stone, leaving the outfield as the most likely place to change personnel and bring more balance to the lineup. The Phillies were tied for 15th in the majors with a .710 OPS out of left field and 20th with a .644 mark in center. Dombrowski described the Phillies’ outfield production as “very average.”

At the trade deadline, Dombrowski hoped to fortify the outfield with a move for Austin Hays. But the righty-hitting left fielder dealt with hamstring and back injuries and a kidney infection that enabled him to start only 21 of 59 games after the trade. It’s likely he won’t be tendered a contract.

It’s possible, then, that the Phillies will look to acquire another righty-hitting outfielder to platoon with Brandon Marsh in left field. Or they could make a bigger move for an everyday left fielder, especially with center field prospect Justin Crawford “coming very fast,” according to Dombrowski, who could envision the 20-year-old reaching the majors at some point next season.

Either way, the outfield is where the Phillies could add a hitter with a different skill set to a group that has become easier to attack.

“You’re looking to make your club better. You’re not looking to be in a position to just change faces,” Dombrowski said. “I think it depends upon who’s available and how you weigh that and how they fit into your club. We just have to be open-minded to exploring what’s out there for us. Sometimes you trade good players for good players.”

And sometimes all the good players who remain must be better.

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Turner and Nick Castellanos aren’t going to suddenly stop chasing breaking pitches out of the strike zone. But after the knockout game against the Mets, Turner said the Phillies often “get ourselves out.” Dombrowski took note of that comment and suggested several hitters could benefit from a different adjustment.

“One thing I would like us to do — and that’s going to fall into [hitting coach] Kevin Long’s hands — is to use the whole field a little bit more at times,” Dombrowski said. “We become a pull-oriented club at times too much for me. In the postseason, when you look at it, a lot of our hits didn’t come the opposite way. That’s something we’ve already talked about ourselves. Now, the hitters have to buy into that, too.”

The Phillies bought into an expensive core that has them in contention every year. But getting over the postseason hump might require offseason creativity to improve the offense, in particular, on the margins.

“You look to get better,” Dombrowski said, “but we do have a lot of good players.”