Phillies $107 million decision was a genius move by Dave Dombrowski

Oct 9, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) throws in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies might've gotten off to a terrible start to the 2026 season, but they've righted the ship and look like serious postseason contenders once again.

While the offense needs a lot of work, the Phillies have found a lot of success with their pitching staff, especially Cristopher Sanchez, who's currently in the middle of a record-breaking scoreless innings streak.

Speaking of Sanchez, as USA Today's Bob Nightengale highlighted, the Phillies decision to sign Sanchez to a $107 million contract extension this offseason was a genius move from Dave Dombrowski and company.

Phillies $107M decision on Cristopher Sanchez was genius

"The Philadelphia Phillies made quite the shrewd move this spring when they tacked on three more years with Cristopher Sanchez's six-year, $107 million contract extension, leaving the Cy Young candidate under team control through 2033," Nightengale writes.

This extension will keep him in Philadelphia for seven and a half years. Philadelphia will have one of the best pitchers in baseball around for a while on this big extension for Sanchez.

This decision didn't actually have to be made by the Phillies before the 2026 season began. Sanchez was already under contract through the 2030 season on a four-year, $22.5 million deal. That would've been a complete steal for the Phillies.

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But, they rewarded Sanchez for his incredible 2025 season with a massive $107 million extension through the 2033 season, and while they didn't have to make such a decision, it's looking more and more like that was a genius move by the minute.

This season, Sanchez has a 44.2 inning scoreless streak that can climb the all-time MLB leaderboards going forward, and with how dominant he's looked, it wouldn't be a surprise if this scoreless streak went on for a little while longer.

Sanchez has a 1.47 ERA with 4.3 bWAR, a 6-2 record, a complete game shutout, 95 strikeouts, and a 293 ERA+ across 79.1 innings pitched.

He's currently the front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award, and while his $22.5 million deal was a complete steal before, even now this $107 million extension looks to be a steal as well if this is how Sanchez is going to pitch.

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