The Phillies fell well short of a trip to the Fall Classic but the World Series, or more precisely, the end of the series is an important date for all teams. Immediately following the World Series, players can file for free agency and five days after a champion is crowned, teams can begin – officially begin – negotiating with players who were on other teams in 2025.

Between now and then, teams can conceivably re-sign their own free agents. It’s not going to happen but we could wake up tomorrow and see that the Phillies re-signed Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Ranger Suarez, and/or Harrison Bader. None of those four are likely at all to re-sign before they have teams throw years and numbers at them. The Phillies can use the qualifying offer – a one-year $22.025-million contract – to try to get any of them to sign, but Bader would be the only one that would accept it and that’s because he may not get that much on the open market, although nothing is impossible.

Nobody knows what will happen with any of those players. A lot depends on what other owners are willing to pay them. After all, a player is only as valuable as what someone is willing to pay him. Schwarber, 33, seems to want five years and in the neighborhood of $30-million per year. Realmuto, 35, will get a shorter and less valuable offer; two – possibly three – years and somewhere between $7 and $9-million per season. Having spent his entire career in Philadelphia, Realmuto could decide he wants to stick around and see this thing out. That might make him willing to accept something a little less from the Phillies than he would from another team; the old “hometown discount.”

Dave Dombrowski had high praise for both Schwarber and Realmuto at Thursday’s press conference and talked about not judging Realmuto just on his offensive stats, but taking into consideration how familiar he is with the pitching staff and how well he handles the pitchers. “He is the most prepared catcher I have ever been around,” said Dombrowski, who has been around the likes of Jorge Posada and Ivan Rodriguez.

The deceiving thing about Ranger Suarez is that he is 30-years-old and has had some issues with a bad back. Teams that are wary of the back injury history will likely want something like three years and $54-million. Teams that are willing to assume he will be okay might be willing to go six years and as high as the $160-million neighborhood. A creative team would maybe go three years, $54-million, but with added bonuses for reaching a certain number of starts. Perhaps throw in a fourth year team option with a decently high buyout if the team wants to bail.

Suarez made it clear that he wants to come back, but the decision could be tough considering the potential contract numbers. Plus, it’s complicated because the Phillies have to have at least some trepidation about Aaron Nola after the worst season of his career. Plus, they don’t know for sure if Andrew Painter will get his command issues fixed over the offseason. If Nola is back to some semblance of normal and Painter is ready to start his major league career then Suarez is a luxury.

Then, there’s Harrison Bader. Without acquiring him from the Twins, the Phillies may have had to at least play a wild card series and might not have been in the postseason. Here’s the thing; 2025 was a career-year for Bader. Coming into the season, Bader averaged nine home runs, 34 RBI, and a slash line of .242/.306/.392. Last season, he set career highs in all of those categories with the exception of slugging when he produced a 17-54-.277/.347/.449 line with Minnesota and Philadelphia. While it’s easy to love Bader and what he did for the Phillies, you have to wonder which guy he will be in 2026. Was the motivation of being in a contract year and then getting to play with a contending team down the stretch the reason for the big uptick or did he just start to put everything together. At age 31, Bader would be a bit of a late bloomer, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be worth bringing back.

Last February Minnesota signed Bader to a one-year/$6.25-million contract. However the contract has a mutual option year for 2026 valued at $10-million and generous bonuses for plate appearances that netted Bader an additional $1.5-million and a trade clause that gave him $500-thousand if he was traded. With the buyout for 2026 at $1.5-million, the deal grew to be a one-year/$9.75-million deal; just shy of the $10-million he would earn if he and the Phillies agree for him to return to the Phillies. He probably won’t get much – if any – more than that on the open market. With the Phillies lineup being lefty laden, Bader’s right-handed bat could fit well.

The Phillies have easier decisions on Max Kepler, David Robertson, Jordan Romano, and Walker Buehler, their other free agents. Dombrowski talked about Kepler’s job being taken by prospect Justin Crawford and mentioned that “David Robertson’s not going to be back with us to start the season. I don’t think he wants to pitch in the beginning of the season anymore throughout his lifespan”. Romano was so bad that there would be a parade of fans with pitchforks headed for Dombrowski’s office if he were to return. As for Buehler, the question is what he wants. He could be a useful piece, but not at a high dollar or year value. Odds are that a team will throw more money at him than the Phillies should and he will exit.

Then, there’s Jose Alvarado, who missed 80 games when he was suspended for violating the MLB banned substances clause. The Phillies hold a $9-million club option on him for next season. Dombrowski seemed to lean toward bringing him back, but many in the fan base would just as soon let him leave. That money could be better spent elsewhere.

Now that Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson have officially put their stamp on the season and the playoffs are drawing closer to their finality, the Phillies will start having to answer these questions and putting an action plan in place for 2026.