For those who are still sitting there with a bad taste in your mouths after last season’s debacle of an ending for the Philadelphia Phillies, there’s good news. This is a brand spanking new season.
The 2025 baseball season kicks off on Thursday afternoon, and your Phillies will open on the road in Washington to take on the Nationals. The guy taking the ball is one of the reasons why we should believe in this team and if they can finally get over the hump to a title in Zach Wheeler. Since he joined the Phils, Wheeler has been one of the best pitchers in the game. Every fifth day you know you’re getting a solid outing and a good chance to win a ball game. In fact, it’s the Phillies rotation in general that should be exciting this year
Aaron Nola is the team’s number two option, providing another solid chance at a win each time he goes out. Providing that the “Nola inning” that he always seems to have isn’t too damaging. Next, is the young Christopher Sanchez, who in his first complete season as a starter, went 11-9 with a respectable 3.32 ERA. Things get a little less predictable behind Sanchez, with new acquisition Jesus Lazardo, who is young and has potential, but is coming off a shortened season with the Marlins when he was injured. Filling out the rotation is Ranger Suarez who had a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde year, coming out of the gate as a Cy Young candidate before falling apart after the All Star break. Suarez is dealing with some back issues and will take some time to return when the season begins, with Taijuan Walker taking his place. The interesting part with the rotation is they will have three left-handers taking the ball, so manager Rob Thomson may have to get creative at times with matchups going into a series.
In the field, the Phillies ranked 10th last season, and 18th in runs saved. They hope to improve on that with the acquisition of Max Kepler who will be used as a platoon outfielder. Kepler is viewed as a very good defender, and along with the development of CF Johan Rojas and the hopeful continued progression of Brandon Marsh, the outfield should be average at the very worst. Around the diamond, the Phillies need Trea Turner to improve. Since he arrived in Philly, his defense has been suspect, and if it weren’t for the drastic improvement from 3rd baseman Alec Bohm’s defense, the Phillies left infield could have been disastrous. The other side is very solid with Bryson Stott and Bryce Harper, who returns playing 1st for the second consecutive season. A concern may be behind the plate. In the past, JT Realamuto was a force, but as he has gotten older, the signs are there that he’s not quite as reliable as he once was. Youngster Rafael Marchan will serve as backup, and may see close to 35% of the games behind the plate, if not more.
Speaking of age, it could be the biggest thorn in the side for this club. Guys like Harper, Turner, Realamuto and Nick Castellanos aren’t quite considered dinosaurs in the game, but they aren’t too far off, either. You can get “old” quick in baseball, and the injury bug needs to stay away if this team expects to make a deep run in 2025.
Another thing that needs to stay away is bad tendencies. Last season, when the Phillies limped towards the playoffs down the stretch, they looked lackluster at the plate, swinging at bad pitches, having bad at-bats, and giving away outs in big time situations. This core has been very up-and-down when it comes to hitting. When they are on, they are almost unbeatable, but when they go cold, they do things like get no-hit in the World Series, or fail to score at least 2 runs in a four game series like they did last season vs the Mets in the divisional round. Baseball is a long season, but consistency is also key. This team needs to do their best to avoid the droughts like they did in the latter part of the 2024 season if they want to repeat as NL East champs and more
The Braves are mostly healthy, unlike last season. They still have a solid rotation, and a dangerous lineup. The Mets signed Juan Soto to a massive deal, but may have some issues with their pitching. Time will tell there. The truth is, if the Phillies play their style of game, they should be fine. At the very worst, they SHOULD finish in second in the division.
Unfortunately, I am getting uneasy vibes of the 2012 season with this team. Although I don’t feel like the window is closing in the Bryce Harper/Zach Wheeler era , but the team didn’t do much to improve on what was a very disappointing finish last year. They added closer Jordan Romano from the Blue Jays, but they lost All Star Matt Hoffman. The offense is mostly the same group, and the chances of them not going through ill timed struggles is very slim.
Was GM Dave Dombrowski too arrogant in his approach to the team in the off-season, or was he purely hamstrung from the massive contracts already on the books? Will the loss of last season open the eyes and fuel this group or will it linger in their minds (like it has with me?)
The bottom line is, the Phillies are good enough to win at least 90 games, and that’s exactly where I’ll put them. I think the Braves finish ahead of them, though. At that point, they make the playoffs and depending on how the team looks down the stretch is how they’ll perform on the postseason. But as I sit here in March, crossing my fingers that the team can stay relatively healthy and not get stuck in their own way, I am very reluctant to say that teams like the Braves, Padres, and Dodgers won’t advance further than the Phillies.
But, as I said earlier, baseball is a long season, anything can happen. So until then, I’ll just try to enjoy the ride the best I can. Just for kicks, here is my fearless forecast…
Phillies 90-72 (2nd in NL East, wild card team)
Bryce Harper finishes top 3 in NL MVP voting, and Gold Glove.
Christopher Sanchez has 15 wins, Nola struggles to be .500
Jordan Romano has 30+ saves
Kyle Schwarber fails to reach 30 home runs, but is more consistent in other areas in the offense.
Trea Turner has his best season as a Phillie, being a catalyst in the leadoff spot, stealing 35+ bases and hits for .280
Either Alec Bohm or Nick Castellanos are traded before the deadline
Bryson Stott gets a new walkup song
And finally….
Zach Wheeler wins CY Young with 19-5 record and an ERA of 2.30
Corner Pub Sports 