Phillies 2026 News and Discussion

[julio]

The weather here in Columbus was absolutely brutal today. The heat is so intense. You have some really nasty weather heading your way for tomorrow and Thursday.

Yeah. Forecast highs for us here (Lower Bucks) are 40ºC, or 104ºF, the next two days, with overnight lows flirting with 80ºF. Brutal.

We just got in (out to dinner), and it was surprisingly...not too bad outside. Still warm (low 80s), but a bit of a breeze, and under our trees, quite tolerable. Of course, that's at 8 pm, with the sun down. Restaurant parking lot, on the other hand...

I can't imagine sitting through an afternoon game in that kind of heat, much less trying to play! (Although I did spend some time early this afternoon in a field, picking snap beans - just a few minutes, though).

[zambonir]

It crossed my mind to try and snag a club ticket Thursday but of course everyone will think that and prices won't go down (and they are far beyond my usual to begin with).

[VoteForKalas]

6 players are really carrying us this season so far:

Harper, Schwarber & Marsh with the bats and Sanchez, Wheeler & Duran on the mound.

BA: Marsh is the team leader
Runs: Harper
Hits: Marsh
BB: Harper & Schwarber tied
RBI: Schwarber
HR: Schwarber
2B: Marsh (tied w/ Turner & Stott)
OBP: Harper
SLG: Schwarber
OPS: Schwarber
TB: Schwarber
OPS+: Schwarber

Schwarber, Harper & Marsh have 64 (56%) of the Phillies total of 114 HR.

Harper & Schwarber have almost 30 more BB than anyone else on the team. They both have 52, next highest is 23.

+++++++++++

The pitchers are also dominant:

ERA: Duran is the team leader (Sanchez for the starters)
ERA+: Duran (Sanchez for the starters)
IP: Sanchez
SO: Sanchez
BB: Duran (fewest BB on staff) - Wheeler for the starters
WHIP: Wheeler
SO/9: Duran (Luzardo for the starters)
BB/9: Sanchez
H/9: Wheeler
HR/9: Duran (Sanchez for the starters)
P/IP: Sanchez

Luzardo is on the fringe as a 7th guy, but these 6 are the ones who keyed the turnaround and are keeping us afloat right now. Hopefully, Turner, Stott & Bohm can continue to improve as they've shown recently. We will need them.

[zambonir]

I don't imagine this is especially unusual. Some teams don't even have two good players! I did an All-Star ballot yesterday and not only are Bohm and Stott two of the finalists at their positions but Mookie Betts and Will Smith aren't all that impressive either (though better than those two guys, or the Phillies SS and C). Obviously that is the flaw of the voting, that the popular and recently good teams get undeserved support, but I suspect it also reflects a depressed offensive environment and lack of better candidates.

Bohm was only .670 OPS in June and .541 in last 14 days (he was stronger in May), so same old Bohm I'm afraid. Turner's .907 in last 14 days but was only .693 overall in June so we'll see if it sticks. Stott's been more consistent (aside from April). It will be interesting to see if DD really just looks at OFs or considers a more creative move.

[VoteForKalas]

On a 25 man roster, I think it is risky to have 6 of them carry almost the entire load for success.

The big risk is obvious: if one or two of these players go down with injury, we will be in trouble. Again, the lack of a quality bench and farm system that can provide depth makes it even worse.

The Dodgers, who you reference, have far superior talent depth on their roster and in their farm system. They've been able to sustain success despite massive injury issues for several seasons now and I do not see that changing.

DD better have plans to upgrade the talent on this roster at the deadline and beyond. If they fall short again this season, he better be finally ready to make more significant changes. They need to get out of several more bad contracts and bring in younger talent to extend the window. Because DD has delayed taking action for several seasons, it will be a very difficult transition, but I do not see any future staying on this current course and waiting for the inevitable crash.

[zambonir]

The Dodgers are obviously another level. We'll still be hard-pressed to beat them in a short or long series without luck (ideally the luck of another team upsetting them first, as in '22 and '23). And the Braves are a much better offensive club (as are the Pirates and Nats and, well, just about everyone). It's still all about the pitching, though the Phillies are now in the middle tier in runs scored (15th) and I assume that if you throw out April they are more elite in statistical categories as they've been in W-L.

Easy to say they should get out of bad contracts and bring in younger talent but even if they could - or feel the same way about Trea or JT as you do - not much reason to trust DD to be the guy to execute a new vision or make moves. Other than having no choice.

But I still think their vision has been correct. They did not delay taking action,they aggressively have been competing in the moment, and for the duration of Wheeler's contract. And have picked pitching over hitting with the bigger swings (Luzardo, Duran) while taking smaller ones on offense (Garcia, Kepler). Resulting in what's now looking like three straight 90+ win seasons.

It's still pretty hard to point at many free agents or traded players they missed on though. Taylor Ward would have been better than Garcia but he cost the O's the equivalent of Painter. Imagine how bad DD would look right now with Bichette on the team. A younger, better player on paper at the time they pursued him.

[dicemen99]

Stott seems to be having his typical year. Ups and downs, but will probably end up with a .700 OPS and excellent in the field at a position where that matters - I have no complaints about him. That's a contributor on a good team, maybe not the all-star we were all hoping for when he came up, but a solid player.

Bohm is who he is. Not good enough in the field to overcome his lack of power at the corner and he's not even hitting doubles this year. Unfortunate for him that he has not turned it on in a contract year, but he is a player who should be upgraded. With Marsh's emergence this year, it lessens the negative impact.

Turner is really the one that we need to turn it on. He's scored 57 runs this year already with a horrendous .286 OBP. He's a lifetime .350 OBP before this year. Really, really hoping that the offense starts to return somewhat to the norm and that he's not gone over the cliff. His defense has though. That is clear. It's been happening for a couple years now, and the last half of last season was the outlier, not the norm. He really needs his offense to get back on track.

Get us an OF bat that can push Bohm and JT down in the lineup where they should be and platoon Hill/Crawford (I am not giving up on Crawford, he is battling through his rookie year like many other very good players). If Turner comes around, I think we are all right this year - as long as we get lucky with injuries. Address 3B next year after you get an idea of what's going on with Miller later this year, although if someone drops in your lap as a cheap rental - go for it.

[zambonir]

For sure, Turner is the key.

Per the story below, it's unlikely they will be able to get a true needle-mover - or someone who can hit 4th or 5th - in the OF. Bader wasn't really be that either, they just got more from him than they could have hoped in addition to his presence improving everyone else (i.e. Marsh didn't have to play CF and Kepler and Casty became a platoon).

Crawford's June line is fascinating - .307 BA but only .693 OPS. If he was playing great CF that would be more than enough, but I still fear his ceiling is Ben Revere, which is respectable but not what we want.

If a shake-up next off-season really has to happen it would likely involve Stott (one year of control and has trade value, Phillies have other options if Miller is in the mix) or Marsh (one year of control and Boras client, not likely to take extension before hitting free agency)

Can the Phillies’ outfield make do until reinforcement arrives at trade...

[andyb]

Bohm is who he is. Not good enough in the field to overcome his lack of power at the corner and he's not even hitting doubles this year. Unfortunate for him that he has not turned it on in a contract year, but he is a player who should be upgraded

Upgrading is still first an Aiden Miller question. Hopefully he plays and we have some answers by the end of the year. He should still be able to play the last month in the minors if his procedure was successful.

Agree that Stott is good enough to hang around for the rest of his control years. We still could upgrade the infield beyond Miller though like we thought about with Bichette. Miller could land at any of the 3 positions depending on where the pieces fall and if they decide to move Turner off of SS at some point.

[zambonir]

Agree that Stott is good enough to hang around for the rest of his control years.

But there's only one more! Next year's IF could just be Miller/Turner/Stott (regardless of position) but then they are right back where they are now, in need of an OF. Or the OF is Crawford/Turner/Marsh and they get a 3B. But like you say, it all depends on MIller.

[andyb]

We could keep Stott after next year too. If he is still only a 700 OPS guy it might only be a 2 or 3 year deal for like $10-12 million a year.

Not sure about Escobar yet but I guess he'll have next year in AAA to prove himself. Rincon seems more in line for the Sosa roster spot.

[dicemen99]

Bohm is who he is. Not good enough in the field to overcome his lack of power at the corner and he's not even hitting doubles this year. Unfortunate for him that he has not turned it on in a contract year, but he is a player who should be upgraded

Upgrading is still first an Aiden Miller question. Hopefully he plays and we have some answers by the end of the year. He should still be able to play the last month in the minors if his procedure was successful.

Yes, agreed. That is why I posted that we should wait until next year to address it after we get a better read on Miller unless a cheap rental falls in our laps. We can live with Bohm for now without expectations assuming Turner gets better and we don't get stung with injuries.

[zambonir]

I don't think they are actively trying to replace Bohm and they're certainly not going to saddle themselves with four years of Matt Chapman (who would only upgrade defense) but if you can't get Trout (not available until we hear otherwise), Buxton (ditto) or Ward (O's claim they are not selling atm) it is possible an IF (Paredes?) is more appealing than an OF. Of course many IFs aren't really options either (Devers, E. Suarez, Bichette)

And there's also the still-unlikely "move Harper back to RF" scenario (Christian Walker?).

Extending Stott certainly possible. But another Boras client. Not saying he won't have to settle for the $ andy suggests but would he wait for open market and/or ask for opt-outs?

[BostonRoss]

The reliance of the 2026 Phillies on a few players having good to great years reminds me a little of the 1980 Phillies. Schmidt was better than any of the 2026 hitters, but beyond him, the only really good hitters were Bake and Skates, with a few others like the Bull and Trillo being OK hitters. The 2026 Phillies also have three very good hitters. Both teams have/had a dominant reliever, and some inconsistency in the rest of the pen. I see two main differences. The 1980 team had only one really great starter (Lefty, of course) while the 2026 team has two--plus Luzardo is better than any of the other 1980 starters, at least until Marty Bystrom came along. The other difference is defense; the 1980 Phillies had three elite defenders (Schmidt, Maddox, and Trillo) while the 2026 team has none, really (maybe JT though Boone is comparable).

The 1980 Phillies won 91 games; the 2026 version is on a similar pace.

(I'm trying not to compare Nola to Randy Lerch...)

[allentown]

There is only so much that smart trades and FA signings can accomplish, especially if you want at least moderate success over the longer term. It can certainly push a team over the top, especially if it has $$$ to spend. It can't compensate for a poor identification of amateur talent and/or poor development of that talent. Our production of homegrown talent, despite repeated claims of changes that got things right, is subpar. That is the big weakness of this team.

[zambonir]

No opener for Rangel today. Paging @kikutaro!

[andyb]

I'd be shocked if either pitcher goes more than 3 or 4 today. Even Jones has had only 1 start this year when he went 5. Off day tomorrow means everyone in the bullpen gets 1 today.

[zambonir]

Fortuitous for Phillies since Pirates don't have off-day.

Next CBA could use an extreme heat roster expansion clause, kind of like a doubleheader.

[zambonir]

Rangel optioned so presumably another churn reliever coming up and then either another spot starter or an actual bullpen game before the break.

[andyb]

Thanks for gutting out 90 pitches on a day when it feels like 130 degrees.