Phillies News and Discussion 2025 Season

[Callison]

After a few of the dullest games the Phils played all season, the Duran injury just scared the daylights out of everyone.

I get Duran's preference for pitching even when he's not saving a game to keep himself in shape, but dislike it because the pressure of a save is missing. Doubt the problem arises again for the Phils - there should be plenty of games to save.

For those who haven't seen it: https://thatballsouttahere.com/5-phillies-who-are-playing-their-way-out-of-the-team-s-2026-plans

Some lingering player decisions to be made. The Phils are beyond patient with their player decisions, but the problems with these players becomes clearer every day. Disappointed for Kemp who surely looked like a MLB hitter for a while.

[andyb]

Casty actually sitting again today, so maybe this is a once a week thing to get Bader in the lineup more. It does look like the manager is evolving a bit in his player usage. No Bohm activation today.

[BostonRoss]

I don’t think the difference in pressure holding a three run lead vs. four runs is all that much.

[zambonir]

Yeah they were doing everything to win that game with the best possible relievers last night, especially since they needed 12 outs. The four best guys in the pecking order pitched and when the last one got hurt #5 came in. Could they have just let Robertson get the save? Sure, but Duran needed the work, and that would be true of any guy who hasn't pitched in five days. And imagine if Robertson had actually turned it into a save situation, which he almost did anyway (though presumably he still would have gotten out of it).

[zambonir]

So the premise of this story is that the Phillies' offense is like the Nats in 2019, if you shut down Trea Turner and the two LHBs you shut down the whole team. But how did that season turn out for them again?

Phillies’ bats sputter against the Nationals for fourth loss in five games

[EDmuch]

Unfortunately that premise seems pretty solid with this team. Not much behind the top 3 hitters although in our recent mini streak, the bottom of the order contributed quite a bit.

[zambonir]

Well yeah but if the premise is solid we're gonna win the World Series!

Unfortunately, seems like a cruel irony/moot that the ups and downs of the offense won't really matter if a team built on starting pitching loses its best starting pitcher. Rotation and upgraded bullpen is still deep enough to get to the NLCS in the best case, but....

[EDmuch]

Yeah but if your best pitchers give up 2 runs per game & your offense only scores one, you lose the game.

[zambonir]

Yes and on the nights that happens they lose the game. But somehow they've still won as many games as any other team in the NL besides Milwaukee. Hopefully the Brewers are peaking early/will be this year's version of last year's Phillies or the other two years' Dodgers.

The point is, if our three best players all get hot, the team can do anything.If they don't, they can't. Hopefully the other guys (Marsh, JT, either Nick or Bohm) will help here and there.

[zambonir]

OT: the Phanatic never gets a night off!

https://www.reddit.com/r/MyChemicalRomance/comments/1mrga00/philly_fanatic/

Yup the person who posted it did not spell "Phanatic" correctly.

[flyers19rw]

With Bohm out replaced by AAA level performance at the plate and in the field along with a cobbled together OF that has little to no offensive potential, you're not going to win many games. Four professional hitters in the lineup- Turner, Schwarber, Harper and JT just isn't enough.

[zambonir]

And yet they are still 9-6 in August, and 15-11 since Bohm went on the IL. All while Casty's been the worst hitter on the team too.

Stott (.798 second-half OPS) has actually picked up some of the slack, while Marsh continues to be our fourth-best bat (and actually better than that, .880 OPS in the second half). Both LHBs of course. Wilson has also been excellent (.960 OPS in second half, his overall stats, like Marsh, depressed by poor early start). JT is still having a below league-average season by OPS + and only has a .739 second-half OPS.

Bader needs to get going - and they need to play him to get him going.

[andyb]

Nola for Wheeler. Bohm for Kemp as anticipated.

Robert back to AAA for depth and Cal Stevenson released (might have something to do with Mercado or maybe just the Phillies realizing they would call Crawford up in an injury anyway).

[zambonir]

Stevenson was on the 40 so I guess that is indeed a spot for Crawford, though maybe they will be hunting for an extra arm too [or Painter, though that seems unlikely]. Mercado and Hicklen (who is also on the 40) both RHBs tho.

Oh but I guess Nola wasn't on the 40.

[julio]

JT is still having a below league-average season by OPS + and only has a .739 second-half OPS.

I'm tempted to just argue that JT is in decline, being that he's a 34-year-old catcher.

But that said...What is going on with JT and left-handed pitchers, where he theoretically has a platoon advantage? His OPS against LHP has fallen off the chart...from .782 last year (and .767 lifetime) to .567 this year? Now, that's in 122 PA (2025), so...small sample size? Still, his 2025 OPS against RHP is near his career norm. Deteriorating vision?

[Dirk41]

How much would Wheeler's prognosis factor into the off-season plans? If he is not ready to even start next season, let alone actually play again, do you invest in Schwarber and/or JT??? Resign Ranger???

[zambonir]

They'll probably have a pretty clear idea of things by December. If it turns out he's out for an entire season or worse I suppose it could prompt them to rethink the approach/budget. But I don't think they'd take a step back. And I still don't think they'll try to re-sign Ranger unless they trade Luzardo or Walker.

[zambonir]

An even less fun question to ask would be, how much would Nola no longer being even a mid-rotation pitcher factor into the off-season plans? Let's hope we're not asking it.

[EDmuch]

I hope I am wrong but I thought the contract extension they gave to Nola was even worse than what Ryan Howard got. Nola has been trending down for the past 3 years.

[flyers19rw]

One game after a multi month absence is no big deal. He should have been able to get out of the third inning but the Nats had a string of soft hits against him. Then he tired and was hit harder. I’m not hitting the panic button on him. His track record is too good.