Thank the Phillies for making September, and the MLB playoffs, relevant — for this season and beyond
The Phillies have hit a late snag, but it’s a miracle they’re even in the wild-card conversation.
The bellyaching has a familiar sound and a familiar stench. Phillies fans, once addicted to Red Octobers, find themselves looking at another Dead October. So, they wailed:
Bryce Harper is choking again down the stretch! Rhys Hoskins is a fraud! Aaron Nola gets scared come September! Here we go again!
Ingrates.
Their ire is unwarranted. Yes, it’s been a decade since the franchise saw a 163rd game, but anything these Phillies give their fans over the final two weeks of 2022 is bonus. What’s more, they’ve proved they should be playoff contenders for the next several seasons. The Phillies are for real ... out of nowhere.
Consider:
On June 3 the Phillies were seven games below .500. Harper, the reigning MVP who was well on his way to defending the honor, had just found out he had a ligament tear in his throwing arm. Second baseman Jean Segura, the second-most dependable hitter on the team, had just broken his finger, gone for up to three months. Shortstop Didi Gregorious was in the middle of a 50-game streak without a home run. Corey Knebel, the closer, and part-time setup man Jeurys Familia, mercenaries signed to stabilize the bullpen, were gagging like flamingoes eating salmon.
This season wasn’t on life support; it was flatlined. Enjoy the resurrection.
Despite enormous obstacles, the Phillies held a 2½-game lead for the third and final spot in the wild-card race over Milwaukee entering the weekend. As the Phillies begin this gauntlet — three weekend games with the Braves, then a 10-game road trip to finish the schedule — consider how lucky they are to have this chance to fail.
Glass half-full
The Phillies fired big-name manager Joe Girardi on June 3 and promoted bench coach Rob Thomson, who’d never managed before. Entering Friday’s game, Thomson was 60-38.
Harper served as the designated hitter for 30 games after his diagnosis. He hit .333 with six home runs and a .973 OPS, nearly the same production he provided pre-injury. He’s a Phillie through 2031.
Zack Wheeler finished second in the Cy Young Award voting in 2021, but his workload wore him down and set him back early in 2022. However, from his third start through his 21st, he was Cy-worthy again: 11-2 with a 1.97 ERA with 126 strikeouts over 114 innings, averaging 6⅓ innings per start. He missed a month with an elbow problem but returned Wednesday and looked sharp. He’s a Phillie through 2024.
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Harper was hit by a pitch June 25 and broke his thumb; coincidentally, J.T. Realmuto had been impotent until June 25. In his 64 games since, Realmuto has hit .322 with 17 home runs and a 1.010 OPS. He’s been the Phillies’ MVP and he’s been the best catcher in baseball (again) (finally). He’s a Phillie through 2025.
Kyle Schwarber, the $79 million left fielder, leads the National League with 40 home runs, No. 2 in all of baseball. He’s a Phillie through 2025.
From his third start of the season, April 18, until his 25th start, on Aug. 25, Aaron Nola compiled a 2.42 ERA, struck out 173 batters in 157⅓ innings, and averaged nearly seven innings per start for a team whose bullpen was in shambles. The Phillies hold a $16 million club option for 2023, with a $4.25 million buyout; in other words, he’ll cost them about $12 million to keep for one more season. No-brainer. Nola might fade down the stretch, but somebody’s got to get you to the stretch.
Nick Castellanos, the $100 million free-agent DH/outfielder, finally came to grips with the pressure of his big payday. He was hitting .318 with an .853 OPS over the last 28 games before he strained his oblique and shut down Sept. 3. He’s a Phillie through 2026.
Alec Bohm laid claim to the full-time job at third base. His sophomore season went so badly that rookie Bryson Stott spent spring training getting groomed to platoon at the position. That never really happened. Bohm was hitting .289 with 12 home runs and 67 RBIs entering the weekend. The Phillies control him through 2026.
Segura was injured May 31 and was replaced by Stott. The day Segura returned, Aug. 4, the Phillies released Gregorius. Stott has started 86 of the team’s 100 games since May 31. He has hit .257 with nine home runs. He looks like the shortstop of the future. The Phillies control him through 2027.
Ranger Suárez wins, and he rises to the moment. The lefty is 13-7 since becoming a full-time starter last season, 10-5 this season, and 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA in his last 12 starts. The Phillies control him through 2025.
Second-year left-hander Bailey Falter yo-yo’d between the majors and minors most of the year, the best spot-start option as injuries ravaged the rotation. A starter in the minors, Falter is 5-2 with a 3.55 ERA in 13 big-league starts this season. The Phillies control him through 2027.
Brandon Marsh landed in Philly as part of multilayered deadline deals with the Angels. The Phillies hoped he’d be able to lock down the center field spot and not be too big of a hole in the lineup, but he’s hit .281 in 29 games. That will make him their center fielder for a long time. The Phillies control him through 2027.
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