Philadelphia Phillies: 3 infield options to replace Jean Segura

Reuniting Dave Dombrowski and Xander Bogaerts

Dave Dombrowski isn’t an incredibly difficult man to figure out. As a baseball executive, he believes in pursuing strong, proven talent. Philadelphia saw exactly that last season with the off-season addition of Kyle Schwarber, among others.

What is also known about the Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations is that he also has a thing for “his guys,” that is, players he’s worked with — and, more importantly, succeeded with — in the past. This was seen with the acquisition of Nick Castellanos this past off-season.

Dombrowski, who was with the Detroit Tigers at the time, drafted Castellanos and witnessed part of his early success and development. When given the opportunity, especially right after Castellanos’ career season, Dombrowski pursued his former slugger until arriving at a deal with a five-year, $100 million contract.

What does this have to do with Xander Bogaerts? Well, after Dombrowski’s stint with Detroit, he moved on to the Boston Red Sox.

Now, Bogaerts was a part of Boston’s system long before Dombrowski arrived, but they shared an organization for four years and won the 2018 World Series together. Dave Dombrowski witnessed the development of Bogaerts into the perennial All-Star Candidate that he is today.

Bogaerts is certainly one of the top players on the market, but he wouldn’t require the same level of compensation as Trea Turner, both in years and in average annual value. This could allow the Philadelphia Phillies to instead pursue upgrades in their pitching.