President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said months ago that he planned to retool the Phillies, not rebuild them.

He seems to like what he saw this past month in Clearwater, Fla.

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“We’re in a strong division, no question about it,” Dombrowski said Tuesday afternoon on Zoom. “But we’re trying to win the division. That’s what we’re trying to do: make the playoffs and win the division. That’s what our goal is.”

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Dombrowski took a few minutes Tuesday to explain the thinking that went into finalizing the 26-man roster.

Odúbel Herrera
Roman Quinn always had the edge over Herrera and Adam Haseley to make the team because Quinn is a switch-hitter with elite speed and no options remaining. Haseley strained his left adductor on March 4, but he returned earlier than expected and played well during the final week of camp. If Haseley had not returned when he had and played as well as he did, Herrera almost certainly would have made the team.

Instead, Herrera will open the season at the team’s alternate training site in Allentown, Penn.

“At the end of camp, [Herrera] was not consistent offensively,” Dombrowski said. “When you look at Odúbel’s situation, you’re talking about somebody that has 50 Spring Training at-bats over a couple years. At times you see the flashes, but for us, it was better for him to go out and play on an everyday basis.”

Dombrowski said Herrera’s May 2019 arrest and 85-game suspension by MLB for violating the league’s domestic abuse policy played no factor in the decision.

“They were always consistent with me to pick the best team,” Dombrowski said about Phillies ownership.

Another factor? Herrera is not on the 40-man roster.

“If it's close, losing another roster player was not something that appealed to us,” Dombrowski said.

JoJo Romero
Philadelphia optioned Romero on Sunday, leaving the club with only one left-hander -- José Alvarado -- in its eight-man bullpen. Dombrowski reiterated what manager Joe Girardi said earlier this week: the Phillies believe their right-handed pitchers can get out lefties, so they do not feel pressure to carry a second lefty.

Spencer Howard
The Phillies have an innings limit for their No. 1 prospect, who will start the season in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, so he will pitch this season out of the bullpen.

“He’s going to be a starting pitcher in the future,” Dombrowski said. “The problem is, if you start him right away, stretching him out to fix or six innings, you burn through those innings before you can blink, really.”

Howard could make a start or two this season, but if he does, he will pitch only two or three innings at a time. Dombrowski also said that if Philadelphia needs Vince Velasquez to start, Howard could slide into his role in the bullpen.

“We’re really going to watch those innings closely,” Dombrowski said.

Scott Kingery
Dombrowski said Minor League hitting coordinator Jason Ochart will be working with Kingery in Allentown. Kingery, who was optioned Sunday, is trying to change his swing, which was a struggle this past month.

“[Ochart will] be the main contact person for Scott,” Dombrowski said. “But [Phillies hitting coach] Joe [Dillon] will also have close contact with him. And we could bring somebody in there later on. But we thought that this was the best way to go. Give him one voice on a consistent basis, hope the connection is there and then hope we get the results we’re looking to have.”

Pitching depth
Philadelphia got hammered hard in the late innings during the last week of camp, raising concerns about organizational pitching depth. Dombrowski does not think the pitching situation is so dire: He mentioned that the Phillies' first wave of reinforcements (pitchers like Ramón Rosso and Ranger Suárez) already were optioned and did not pitch in games during the final week of Spring Training.

“I think we have depth,” Dombrowski said. “Now, if you get too deep, I get concerned about it. It’s something we’ll continue to pursue if we can find more, but I think, overall, we’re OK. We’re not great, but we’re OK.”