Tuesday offered a somber, almost funereal atmosphere at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park following the firing of Phillies manager Rob Thomson. The club’s 9-19 start proved too much for the 62-year-old captain to overcome. Phillies players, feeling responsible for the firing of their former captain, bore the brunt of his sudden absence.
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But while Thomson’s job could not be saved, Philadelphia’s 2026 season remains alive under interim manager Don Mattingly.
Crucially, the Phillies won a damn game on Tuesday. Jesús Luzardo pitched seven scoreless innings. A struggling lineup collected seven runs and 11 hits. Embattled third baseman Alec Bohm played his best game of the year. Trea Turner went a crisp 4 for 5. Free agent addition Adolis Garcia had a huge two-run double. The night was a useful and much-needed reminder of what this club is supposed to be about.
Baby steps. Even after that win, the Phillies are nine games under .500 and six games behind a playoff berth. Their 10-19 record remains tied for the worst in MLB. Only the New York Mets, equally bewildered, keep Philadelphia company in the basement. Their playoff odds have been cut in half since Opening Day. And although there are 133 games left to solve this problem, it is getting late in Philadelphia.
Let’s zoom out and evaluate the situation in Philadelphia.
Why have the Phillies been so bad?
Don’t blame the old people. They have been good.
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This has often been the hypothesis for the downfall of this era of Phillies baseball: that the core of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto would stop making offensive differences with age. That’s a reasonable concern, sure, but it hasn’t materialized yet. Harper and Schwarber have an OPS around .850. Turner started slowly but has warmed up. Realmuto, who should return from the injured list soon, was performing skillfully before getting injured.
Young people have been the real problem. Phillies position players in their 20s are currently hitting a combined .205/.259/.293 for a league-worst .553 OPS. That mark is almost 100 points lower than that of the Mets, second to last from the bottom. Frankly, it is an embarrassing number. The main culprits? Bohm, second baseman Bryson Stott and backup catcher Rafael Marchán.
Things are less dire on the pitching front, where the Phillies have been extremely unlucky when it comes to hitting fortunes. Some of that has to do with a mediocre defense, but a rotation with this much talent won’t support a 5.52 ERA much longer, especially now that Zack Wheeler is back and Taijuan Walker is unemployed.
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What is your biggest problem?
The end of the lineup has to figure things out. It’s really that simple. Bohm, Stott and Garcia need to find a way to be closer to average than completely unplayable. Something resembling a turnaround of that trio is crucial because the Phillies have almost zero minor league depth.
Since president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski took over in December 2020, the Phillies have enrolled only three of their own draft picks in the majors: Orion Kerkering, Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford. To be fair, signing expensive free agents like the Phillies regularly do comes with giving up top picks. But still, this organization’s inability to fill some of its own holes has become a real problem.
Earlier this year, for example, the club called up a 25-year-old Dominican outfielder named Félix Reyes. The gigantic slugger, due to swing-and-miss issues, was not on any top prospect lists last winter. It was a yard in his first at-bat, but since then he has only two hits, giving him a .167 average. Last weekend, Reyes batted fourth against a left-handed starter.
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What is worse? No one except Realmuto is on IL. Reyes, as fun as he is to watch, should not be Plan A, B or C for a team with World Series aspirations. His inclusion on the major league roster at this time is a sign that the Phillies lack the organizational depth that contenders typically have.
Is there any good news?
Yes: the schedule.
Philadelphia’s recent struggles have a lot to do with their recent streak of opponents. From April 13-26, the Phillies played a combined 13 straight games against the Braves and Cubs, two very good clubs that were absolutely on fire at the time. Now, there’s no excuse for going 2-11 in that span, but things will certainly get easier for the Phillies as the calendar turns to May.
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They have two more games against a very flawed San Francisco Giants team before a trip to Miami for four against the Marlins (14-16). After that, the 15-14 Nomad A’s and the 13-17 Colorado Rockies come to town.
There are no tricks in this league, but that’s a much kinder stretch of the schedule for a team that really needs a favorable bounce or two.