EXCLUSIVE: Former Mets GM Stephen Phillips Argues the Success Narrative Tied to Massive Spending Amidst Dodgers’ $1 Billion Splurge

Former New York Mets General Manager Stephen Phillips has been making waves in his role as an MLB analyst. The former top executive is sharing his thoughts while bringing an expert’s knowledge. During a recent EssentiallySports Exclusive interview, Phillips opened up on Shohei Ohtani, the off-season, the Mets and some of his biggest moments from his time in MLB. 

Stephen Phillips played in the Minor Leagues, worked as a scout and had a journey to his successful GM career. Giving the fans a look into his perspective, the former Mets executive opened up on the Dodgers’ heavy off-season splurge of $1 billion. 

Stephen Phillips believes that a team needs more than money to win

“It’s interesting that, that the team that wins the Off-Season with all the signings and trades and everything else isn’t always the team that wins during the season.” Stephen Phillips opened his comments on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ $1 billion spending with this sentence.

It perfectly sums up his belief that intangible connections and team chemistry lead to success more than money spent. He further elaborated, saying that although the team was built well and had stars, they are lacking in the World Series glory. 

During his Exclusive Interview with EssentiallySports, Phillips further said, “the San Diego Padres have had some of the biggest off-Seasons. The biggest moves, bringing in stars, spending money and giving money to everybody and it didn’t win. It takes more than just money and talent to win. They’ve got to mesh together, they’ve got to be able to support each other.”

He then emphasized the Dodgers’ spending saying, “Uh, they spent a ton of money, over a billion dollars this year for 3 players. $700 million for Shohei Ohtani, $325 million for Yoshinobu Yamamoto and then Tyler Glasnow gets $130 million too.”

Phillips concluded by pointing out the Dodgers’ lack of World Series success in recent years. The former GM said, “They’re good, the Dodgers and they’ve been good every year. But to your point, they’ve had a really nice run of success but they have only 1 World Series Championship out of it,” in the EssentiallySports Exclusive interview.

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With his wealth of experience in executive-level positions, Stephen Phillips knows what he is talking about. The former Mets GM dealt with some of baseballs biggest stars and managed some big teams on budget payrolls. As the off-season progresses, he will continue to enjoy observing the trades and transactions. Is he right about the Dodgers? Is building a well-rounded team more important than money? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments below.

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