So much for “Doing Nothing” — Dave Dombrowski’s quiet offseason paying off for the Phillies

The offseason narrative around the Dave Dombrowski and the Philadelphia Phillies was all about what didn’t happen.

Dave Dombrowski didn’t sign Juan Soto. Didn’t make a splash for Yamamoto. Didn’t land a shiny new bullpen arm to replace Jeff Hoffman. All winter, talk shows and timelines echoed the same refrain: Dombrowski did nothing.

Turns out, nothing might have been exactly what this team needed…for now.

Look, I’m not going to sit here and be overly thrilled about the Phillies. We just wrapped the first week of May and the official, unofficial start of the MLB season is June 1st.

That’s when things actually matter and everything leading up to that, is just a good starting point to what any team has on their roster and where they need to make improvements at the deadline.

Simple enough, right?

That being said, let’s look at the offseason moves that have been under the Dave Dombrowski Microscope since the turn of the calendar year.

Jesús Luzardo, Max Kepler, and Joe Ross weren’t flashy additions, but all three are producing — and producing well — in the first six weeks of the 2025 season.

The biggest narrative with the #Phillies was Dave Dombrowski did nothing this offseason.

Jesus Luzardo

2.11 ERA, 47 IP, 51 K, 13 BB, 3.92 K/BB, 2.1 WAR (leads MLB)

Max Kepler

.246 BA, 5 HR, 12 RBI, ,766 OPS, 10.4% BB rate

Joe Ross

3.93 ERA, 18.1 IP, 14 K, 3 BB, 4.67 K/BB…

— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) May 9, 2025

Jesus Luzardo: Ace-Level Stuff

Let’s start with the headline grabber. Jesús Luzardo leads all of Major League Baseball in WAR (2.1) among pitchers. That’s not a typo. Through 47 innings, the lefty holds a 2.11 ERA with 51 strikeouts and just 13 walks, good for a 3.92 K/BB ratio.

Since April 15th, Luzardo hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any start.

Thursday night was more of the same: 5.1 innings, two runs, six hits, four Ks, and two walks. He bulldogged his way through Tampa’s lineup and kept the Phillies within striking distance before the bullpen and bats brought it home.

Brandon Marsh, Trea Turner deliver in extras as Phillies complete sweep of the Rays, 7-6

This isn’t depth — it’s a legitimate front-line arm in a rotation that already includes Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Cristopher Sanchez.

Max Kepler: Quiet Consistency

Max Kepler may have flown under the radar, but his .766 OPS tells a different story.

His .246 batting average, five homers, and 10.4% walk rate put him firmly in the “doing his job” category, and he’s actually outperforming the likes of Castellanos, Bohm, Realmuto, and Stott in OPS.

He scored the tying run in the 9th on Thursday, finishing the Arizona-Tampa road swing with four RBI, three hits, and three runs scored in just eight plate appearances.

This is a guy giving you quality at-bats every night. Veteran production at a discount.

Joe Ross: Relief Revival

As for Joe Ross, he’s slowly become a rock in the bullpen. After a rocky start, he’s quietly reeled off six straight scoreless appearances, dropping his ERA from 9.39 to 3.93. In four May innings, he’s allowed just two hits and no earned runs.

Not bad for a guy signed as depth.

Small Ball, Big Results

The Phillies aren’t just mashing — they’re executing. A safety squeeze on Wednesday, followed by a textbook sac bunt in the 10th on Thursday to plate the eventual game-winner? That’s the kind of October baseball you want to see in May.

Hell Freezes Over: Johan Rojas is batting over .300 and drove in a run with a perfectly executed safety squeeze

Yes, the bats have been hot. And yes, they’ll cool at some point. But what separates good teams from great ones isn’t just streaky power. It’s discipline, execution, and trust in the margins. That’s what the Phillies are showing right now.

The Phillies’ offense is red hot in May and the here are the numbers back it all up

The Core Is the Core

This team wasn’t going to live or die based on a Soto chase. They already had one of baseball’s most expensive and talented rosters. Success was always going to come down to Harper, Schwarber, Turner, Wheeler, and Nola.

The offseason moves were about plugging holes around the edges. And so far, that patchwork is holding — and then some.

A long season remains, and the bullpen still feels an arm short. But Dombrowski’s so-called “quiet” offseason is getting louder by the day.

Turns out, sometimes Dave Dombrowski doing nothing just means doing the right things quietly. This team still needs some work around the deadline so we’ll just leave it at that for now.

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