The moves the Philadelphia Phillies made prior and through the Winter Meetings left much to be desired for the team’s re-tooling into 2025. Until that point, fans were hoping to see more of the vintage president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski they had come to expect since coming to Philadelphia.

They didn’t have to wait much longer as he also signed outfielder Max Kepler, traded for starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo and signed reliever Joe Ross, to go along with closer Jordan Romano. The deal for Luzardo and catcher Paul McIntosh with the Miami Marlins was the most impactful acquisition via trade , per MLB.com’s Paul Casella. The Phillies parted with two prospects in Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd and now stretch the payroll a little further with the addition of Luzardo who is 27 years old and still has two years of team control left.

Phillies News: Payroll breaks through the fourth luxury tax threshold

Before the trade, the Phillies were teetering on the fourth tax threshold of $301 million. Now the trade and free agent signings all but secure the entrance into unchartered territory. Per FanGraphs, Ross’ deal was reportedly a one-year, $4 million contract which propels the Phillies past the fourth luxury tax threshold at an estimated $308 million.

It’s the cost of doing business when you make the essential changes the Phillies did. That cost breaks down a little more as the front office prepares for the new tax rate. The team has gone over the initial threshold every time since the franchise’s first time in 2022. The CBT threshold in 2025 is $241 million, and any money over that amount gets penalized at a 50 percent tax rate, per MLB.com. The difference now is that going $60 million over the CBT threshold tacks on an additional 60 percent to any already existing overage.

That 110 percent tax rate was the most likely fear the Phillies front office had on pulling the trigger on some of the available free agents. The Juan Soto sweepstakes was fun while it lasted, but the $51 million annual salary alone would have taken the Phillies out of any additional roster filling while being penalized at that same rate.

Dombrowski has made each of his offseason moves without any preliminary notice. He has done great work at getting the deals done in the cloaked fashion that he has. He has saved the potential trouble of having to outbid for players while also executing deals on a top-five payroll coming into 2025. The payroll got even higher, but it’s additional commitment that fans have been begging for with the possibility of additional moves this offseason.