How the Phillies can put the disappointing season of the Eagles behind us
The Philadelphia Eagles barely made it into the playoffs, despite having a 10-1 record at the beginning of the season. After their defeat in Tampa on Monday night, their season is now officially over. The Eagles did not meet preseason expectations in what turned out to be a disappointing season overall. In the offseason, the team will have some choices to make.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers will take the city into baseball season as the football season comes to an end. The Phillies’ catchers and pitchers will report to Clearwater for Spring Training in about a month. As baseball season approaches, there are still many reasons to be enthusiastic despite the relatively quiet offseason.
The Phillies have made two postseason appearances in a row. Although there’s always space for improvement, the team didn’t go into the offseason intending to add a lot of players. The Phillies’ largest action before Opening Day is probably the re-signing of Aaron Nola.
What are some of the reasons Phillies fans should be excited about the upcoming season, even though this offseason has seemed to drag on a bit?
The Phillies didn’t have to spend a fortune in this area, even though they didn’t sign any new big-name pitchers this offseason. The Phillies’ rotation is already set without any changes, although it’s always exciting and fun to see a fancy new addition.
Phillies starters led all teams in 2023 with a 17.7 fWAR, per FanGraphs. With a 4.07 FIP, the rotation was ranked second in the National League and fifth in Major League Baseball. Also, Phillies starters surpassed the National League in innings pitched (899), with the third-highest total in the majors.
Recall that the team spent a significant portion of the season without an established fifth starter. Matt Strahm did a great job filling in, but in the end, he was moved back to the bullpen to shorten his innings. It took until the middle of June for Cristopher Sánchez to establish himself as a regular in the lineup. With a 4.46 ERA, Nola gave up a career-high 32 home runs.
Zack Wheeler had his highest ERA since joining the Phillies before the 2020 season, with a 3.61 mark. Even though he had fifteen victories, Taijuan Walker was unreliable, so the playoffs did not see him. Ranger Suárez struggled with inconsistency and injuries.
Several pitchers in the rotation had lower-than-average performances, which suggests that in 2024 the rotation should be even stronger. The Phillies’ rotation is expected to have another strong season by FanGraphs, which ranks them second in fWAR behind the Braves.
In 2023, the Phillies offense got off to a slow start. However, by June, the team’s bats really started to shine, and they were in the top 10 in terms of wRC+, runs, and home runs. All of this occurred while two of the team’s stars were slumping or missing time. Due to Tommy John surgery, Bryce Harper missed a significant portion of the first two months of the season. A slump that plagued Trea Turner for more than half of the season.
With Turner now at ease in the lineup and Harper healthy for the entire season, the Phillies offense should continue to produce a ton of runs in a lineup that already features many other elite hitters.
In 2024, the Phillies will be back in the race for first place. If there are no injuries, the lineup, bullpen, and rotation are strong enough to challenge the league’s top clubs. The Phillies should therefore make the summer and, hopefully, the fall enjoyable and exciting in the city, even though the Eagles season came to an end and the city suffered another heartbreaking loss.
