The Philadelphia Phillies got their 2025 season off to a strong start over Opening Weekend. Even if they couldn't secure their first series sweep of the young season, going 2-1 on the road against the NL East rival Washington Nationals is better than heading home with a losing record.
Despite an overall winning record through three games, there are obviously going to be some individual performances from the initial series that might have some fans worried, and, dare we say, overreacting through the first three games.
At the end of the day, it's only three of a long 162-game schedule. Even though there's still plenty of baseball left, there's also a lot to take away from the Phillies' Opening Series win over the Nationals. What are two overreactions (and one truth) from Philadelphia's first series in 2025?
2 overreactions from the Phillies' Opening Weekend series win over the Nationals
J.T. Realmuto's slow start is an ominous sign of things to come
J.T. Realmuto hasn’t had the best start to his season, a year in which he’s looking to earn another multi-year contract, either with the Phillies or another team. The 34-year-old backstop registered one hit in nine at-bats in the Phillies first two games, with four strikeouts, for an early .111 batting average and .444 OPS.
While you might say, “Hey, his one hit was a two-run triple,” the box score doesn't tell the whole story. His 10th-inning fly ball into the right field corner in the Phillies' Opening Day 7-3 win was ruled a three-bagger, but it could have just as easily — and probably should have been — a fly out. You can judge the play for yourself.
His name is J.T. and the T stands for triple pic.twitter.com/zWhVclzTFz
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 27, 2025
Regardless, Realmuto’s slow start isn’t anything to worry about. The veteran will be fine. He did leave Saturday’s blowout win with a bruised left foot, but is just day-to-day after MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported after the game that X-rays came back negative.
The Jordan Romano signing is a bust
Baseball fans love to overreact to small sample sizes, and here's a prime example. The Phillies took a calculated gamble on Jordan Romano bouncing back from an injury-riddled 2024 season. Even though his first appearance as a Phillie didn't go well, it's much too early to fret that his $8.5 million contract is a bust, that's for sure.
The two-time All-Star (as recently as 2022 and 2023) came into the Opening Day contest in the eighth inning with a 3-1 lead and looked shaky, to say the least. A walk, a hit-by-pitch, a double steal and a single later, Romano had given up the lead. At least he got out of the inning in a 3-3 tie.
Watch for the clutch hit. Stay for the crazy eyes. pic.twitter.com/TQSCmoFLvg
— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) March 27, 2025
According to Zolecki on The Phillies Show podcast, Romano told him after the game that his mechanics were out of whack to start his outing. His delivery was sped up and his velocity was down, as he was perhaps a little nervous for his Phillies debut, but it increased later in the outing. So the next time we see the right-hander out of the bullpen, he will probably look like a different pitcher, for the better.
1 truth from the Phillies' Opening Weekend series win over the Nationals
The Phillies will be a top team in the National League and MLB
Opening Weekend didn't end on the most positive note, missing some glorious chances to cash in runners during Sunday's series finale loss. But the Phillies are still a top team.
After all the stressing that fans did over the winter about the Phillies not doing enough in the offseason, seeing the superstar-studded roster return to the field reminds us all how good this club really is. Despite a lack of earth-shaking moves, the pieces that the front office brought in should be enough to help this team repeat its success from a year ago.
The addition of Jesús Luzardo was certainly underrated, and he proved how good of a trade it was with his dazzling Phillies debut on Saturday. Romano will sort himself out. Max Kepler, despite a slow start in terms of hits, already has three walks.
Even though the Phillies didn't make the splashy moves like the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Mets, they still have a veteran core that has plenty of talent to go around. Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Realmuto and Nick Castellanos are far from done. And big seasons from younger players like Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh — the members of the now defunct Daycare — will help propel the Phillies to the top of the league again.