DALLAS — The sun came up here Monday, giving Phillies officials a clear view of the downtown skyline from their winter meetings suite — and a wide-eyed outlook on the roster.

What's the best response the day after your rival signs Juan Soto?

Maybe it's remembering that you won 95 games last season.

"[At] a lot of spots, we were a top-five offense in baseball," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. "It didn't look like it the last four games of the [playoffs], but we have a good offensive team as it is. You're always looking to get better. But if you told me that we went in with the same players we have right now, I still think we have a good offensive club.

"Because we're not going to force things to happen to just get them done."

Take those words for what they're worth on Dec. 9, two months before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Although it doesn't make sense for Dombrowski to advertise that the Phillies want to shake up a potent lineup that has become easier to attack, he also has never been the type to stand pat in four decades as a high-ranking executive.

But the Phillies remain as all-in as ever to get owner John Middleton's (bleeping) World Series trophy back. So, if they were to trade, say, Alec Bohm to fill a need elsewhere on the roster — and the Phillies are open to moving Bohm, according to multiple rival evaluators — they would have to acquire a third baseman to replace him.

And it's not like Bohm would be easily replaced. He has driven in 97 runs in back-to-back seasons and ranks among the Phillies' most productive hitters with runners in scoring position. Oh, and he started the All-Star Game five months ago in Arlington, a few miles down the road from the Hilton Anatole, where the baseball industry is gathered this week.

It's a tricky balance.

So, as Dombrowski and his lieutenants chart an offseason course, they have discussed the importance of not overreacting to a four-game postseason muting by the Mets — and especially not to Sunday night's news of New York's gobsmacking 15-year, $765 million agreement with the best pure hitter of this generation.

"I've said all along and I continue to be of the mindset that we're open-minded and we've had a lot of conversations, but that's different than saying we're going to trade such-and-such," Dombrowski said. "Because if we're going to make a move, you don't want to get worse because you're making a deal. You want to at least be equal if you're changing faces."

The Phillies neither met with Soto nor made an offer, multiple sources confirmed. Middleton said last month that he doesn't mind being a "stalking horse" for a star free agent, but the Phillies were convinced Soto wanted to play in New York. So, rather than making a bid that they knew they would lose, they left the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Dodgers to duke it out.

"We had enough of a pulse," Dombrowski said, "to know that was taking place."

Dombrowski did say the Soto signing has kick-started free agency, with agents more willing to engage in conversation now that the biggest fish is off the market. The Phillies reeled in a late-inning reliever Monday, striking a one-year deal with former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano for an $8.5 million base salary, according to a major-league source.

It's likely the trade market won't heat up until more free-agent dominos fall. And with a payroll that is butting up against the $281 million third luxury-tax threshold (and a 95% tariff on every dollar spent up to $301 million), the Phillies' most likely path to altering the offense could come via a trade.

One team to watch: the Astros.

If they're able to re-sign free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, a cornerstone of their World Series winners in 2017 and 2022, they might have to clear payroll space. Left-hander Framber Valdez and outfielder Kyle Tucker, both of whom are eligible for free agency after 2025, are logical candidates. Tucker, who has averaged 28 homers and an .888 OPS over the last four seasons, would fit the Phillies' lineup needs.

"We'll listen on anybody," Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters Monday, and The Athletic reported that Houston is already receiving interest in Tucker.

It's clear by now that the Phillies are considering a lot of things. Less evident is whether they will do anything. Surely, the notion of running back the roster for a second offseason in a row wouldn't appeal to much of a fan base that is calling for change.

But it's also helpful every now and then, maybe when the sun comes out and the visibility is prime, to remember that the Phillies did just have the second-best record in the National League and win the division by six games over the Mets and Braves, a gap that won't likely be entirely erased by Soto's arrival in Queens or Ronald Acuña Jr.'s return to the lineup in Atlanta.

"Everybody has some warts in their game, OK?" Dombrowski said. "People point to our warts more than they point to the positive because we lost in the playoffs. But there's a lot of good things about our offense and a lot of good players."

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