Phillies want "Bryson Stott, Johan Rojas, Trea Turner to be better hitters" rather than chasing home runs, says manager Rob Thomson
On Tuesday, Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson talked about their season and his targets for the 2025 campaign in the end of season press conference. Philadelphia recently extended Thomson's contract through 2026.
After enjoying a successful regular season and clinching the NL East title, the Phillies were strong contenders to win the World Series. However, they were eliminated by the New York Mets in the NLDS.
Thomson was asked about his opinion on the performances of Bryson Stott, Johan Rojas and Trea Turner, and whether they were "trying too hard" to hit home runs.
"Yeah, I think possibly, at times," Thomson said (timestamp 26:00). "Those guys will end up hitting home runs, but we just want them to be bitter hitters, get on base, chew up pitches."
"They'll hit their home runs, especially Stott, he's strong enough, he's going to run into a few. Just be good hitters, be table setters, that's what we're looking for with those guys."
Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski talks about possible improvements for next season
Following Rob Thomson's press conference, Phillies general manager Dave Dombrowski also took questions from the media. One of the key takeaways was his plan to improve the squad heading into next season.
According to Dombrowski, the outfield was a key area that proved to be "very average" in the past season, and he shed some light on his plans to potentially improve it.
"Our outfield is more uncertain than our infield, because our infield's basically set at every single position," Dombrowski said (timestamp 15:09). "Our outfield, turned out to be very average at the big-league level, when you look at it. We have one guy that plays every day, Castellanos. We like Marsh still, we think he's a good player, when you look at his numbers overall."
"We like Rojas, but we need offensive improvement from him. We have a plan this winter time, he's going to live in Clearwater. We have a plan for him from an offensive perspective. He's reduced his chase rate, he's still an outstandind defensive center fielder, he can run. But I can't say he's going to be for sure our center fielder."
After another campaign ending in disappointment, it will be interesting to see if the Phillies' management and coaching staff can make the necessary improvements for next year so they can finally deliver on their massive potential.