Phillies 2026 News and Discussion

andyb 2026-09-21 16:31:33 UTC #1485

Killian too. Kind of the forgotten guy because he barely pitched.

andyb 2026-09-21 16:36:02 UTC #1486

I am not sure we want to be the 6 seed and get the Braves followed by the Dodgers. The Dodgers are still probably the best team if Ohtani comes back as it looks like he is on course to do (at least at DH). Right now we are the 6 seed.

bkox 2026-09-21 16:37:14 UTC #1487

Brad Keller had TJ surgery on July 28th. We wont see him til very late 2027 or maybe not til 2028

Philsmania 2026-09-21 16:39:05 UTC #1488

I am trying not to worry about the Diamondbacks catching us but, of course, it's hard not to. I really thought the Yankees would have taken two of three from them but that didn't happen. It looks like the Diamondbacks will end up winning the tiebreaker over us. they need only one win to get that since they are playing divisional rivals from here on out and the next tiebreaker after head-to-head record (Phillies and Diamondbacks split six games) is record in one's own division. They get three cupcakes in Denver against the Rockies but then they go to San Diego where the Padres are battling for the WCHFA. But, even if we go 2-4 against the Brewers and Rays, the Diamondbacks will need to go 6-0, 5-1 if we go 1-5, 4-2 if we lose out. Crazy as it sounds, we can go 0-6 this week but still get the last wild card if the Diamondbacks go 3-3 or worse.

zambonir 2026-09-21 16:40:59 UTC #1489

Oh I agree the 6th seed is less than ideal, I suppose that's the argument for at least wanting the toss-up between 4 and 5.

And of course if the Philies were to, say, sweep the Brewers, they might get to the 4th or at least fifth seed but could also be making the Dodgers their NLDS opponent after all. Dodgers can also help us out/help their own cause against SD.

andyb 2026-09-21 16:44:53 UTC #1490

We have the tiebreaker against the Padres. Cubs have the tiebreaker on both. Arizona is probably not going to factor into this so we need to pick up one game on the Padres to get the 5th seed.

It would be the Braves in the WC round and not the Brewers so a sweep of that 6-3 series would still get us the Dodgers most likely in the NLDS round.

zambonir 2026-09-21 16:45:12 UTC #1491

I find it pretty easy to not worry about that! Both teams are 4-6 in their last 10. There's no way the Phillies aren't going to win a couple of games, and the D-Backs lose one (or vice-versa). Sure, it could happen. I could also win the lottery.

zambonir 2026-09-21 16:48:40 UTC #1492

I mean if the Phillies swept the Brewers this week. That could theoretically push them down to the 2 seed in the end, and then the 4/5 winner would play the #1 Dodgers.

Phillies can only control what they can control, so they either keep trying to win until the seeds are locked or call it a day after clinching. They can't clinch before Wednesday anyway.

Philsmania 2026-09-21 16:53:04 UTC #1493

If we can get this berth squared away knock out the Diamondbacks by Friday, then yes, root for the Diamondbacks against the Padres

andyb 2026-09-21 16:53:05 UTC #1494

I doubt our pitching staff is capable of any sort of sweep this week. We have a bullpen game Thursday and are we really going to want to use Sanchez and Wheeler Saturday and Sunday if they have to go Tuesday and Wednesday in any WC series?

Getting a 4-2 week with this pitching might be a heavy lift.

zambonir 2026-09-21 16:58:19 UTC #1495

Well, we definitely won't see him in 2028, at least not under this contract. But also the season might not even start until July of 2027. It's not unheard of to come back after 11-12 months, though very much best-case.

Ultimately I would agree the Phillies can't count on Keller and Kerkering and still don't really know what they have in Killian and Bowlan, so they are going to have to sign or trade for at least two relievers (one RHP, one LHP).

zambonir 2026-09-21 17:01:30 UTC #1496

Ha, I agree a sweep of the Brewers is probably not realistic. But it seems to me you are also making the argument for just calling it a day with the #6 seed if they haven't locked down 5 by Saturday.

Philsmania 2026-09-21 17:03:24 UTC #1497

If we haven't clinched a berth yet by either day, yes, they start. The cost-benefit analysis changes if we are playing for seeding.

andyb 2026-09-21 17:06:45 UTC #1498

If we clinch the WC during the Brewers series and seeding is still in play I might push the bullpen game until Saturday and move Painter and Sanchez up a day with 80-90 pitch limit starts. Then bullpen Saturday and Sunday with Wheeler starting Tuesday in the WC and Sanchez Wednesday. Nola has been pitching well but it is hard to see us wanting to use him in game 1 or 2. We do have an off day today so we can move the planned rotation up a bit.

We could even get an inning or two out of Luzardo Sunday if he was looking at a bullpen role in the WC.

zambonir 2026-09-21 17:15:43 UTC #1499

Today's coverage said Luzardo won't pitch on Sunday, though he can indeed come off the IL that day, and who really knows, depending how he's feeling.

I don't think anybody over at CBP is planning like they won't have clinched by Friday (at the latest).

Philsmania 2026-09-21 17:16:37 UTC #1500

Phillies will be a factor in the race for HFA all the way through the WS. Brewers magic number over the Rays (and Dodgers) is five. As we know, we play both teams this week. Rays play the Yankees for four this week but the Yankees' magic number to clinch the 4th seed over the Red Sox is only two so it's debatable if the Yanks will have much to play for.

Rays vs. Dodgers may well go down to game 162,

zambonir 2026-09-21 17:32:40 UTC #1501

I'm not sure anyone will really be playing for HFA in the WS, which is such a distant consideration (especially for the Rays, historically speaking, though Dodgers didn't have it last year either).

Though I guess with the bye, you also aren't really trying to rest anybody.

Be kind of funny to be appreciating Nestor Cortes on Fan Appreciation Day

andyb 2026-09-21 17:35:34 UTC #1502

If we have a bullpen game Sunday and Cortes pitches Thursday or Saturday we will probably just rotate someone like Rangel in Sunday to take up innings. I know the days on IL stays count for the playoffs, but do players have to wait 10 or 15 days after getting optioned to the minors to then get on a playoff roster?

julio 2026-09-21 17:39:21 UTC #1503

One probably shouldn't make comments like this, unless one has some information to support the suggestion that Kerkering is not currently serious about training. Random comments get repeated, and grow into "common knowledge," and it would be...nice... if such common knowledge were based on fact, rather than speculation.

andyb 2026-09-21 17:47:22 UTC #1504

Probably worded poorly. This is mostly the Phillies fault for taking a 1-inning max effort guy into someone who warms up too many times and wears down. The Phillies could also be faulted perhaps for introducing too many new pitches at once. He went from a 2-pitch guy (admittedly too narrow an arsenal) to a guy with 2 different fastballs experimenting with a couple of additional offspeed pitches.

Not sure whose fault it is, but Kerkering just does not have the raw stuff he had a couple of years ago and even this year he has declined notably in the second half.