What a season it’s been thus far for the Fightin’ Phils. In the beginning of the season, it looked as if their bark would be whittled to a whimper in 2026, with the squad opting to part ways with manager Rob Thomson in late April after a 9-19 start that included a 10-game losing streak.
Then came May, which, along with the introduction of Don Mattingly to the manager’s position, sprung Philadelphia into a new gear. Philly went 18-10 in May, following that with another 18-win stretch in June (18-9).
Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh, the latter of whom was unconscious in June en route to his first All-Star appearance, spearheaded the squad’s offense as they climbed to second place in the NL East. All three will play critical roles in the Phillies’ second-half efforts as they look to make a return trip to the World Series. But Marsh and Harper, alongside a tenured starting pitcher, are the Phillies with the most to lose if they post porous second halves.
These three players have the most lose for Philadelphia as the postseason looms
Marsh has been undeniable this season. After starting the season with hits in nine of his first 10 games, the 28-year-old had a .303 average and 17 RBI by the end of April. He kept his foot on the throttle from there, amassing a 13-game hit streak from April 28-May 12, while posting a .333 average for the month.
Then came a massive power uptick with the turn of the calendar into June. Marsh clubbed nine homers in the month, finishing it with a .315/.345/.604 slash line.
Many Phillies fans remember Marsh’s 4-for-42 slump that headlined the start of his 2025 campaign. His redemptive bounceback from that skid was among the best feel-good stories of All-Star Week, but while persistence and grit have now become markers of his career, so too will expectations.
That’s just what happens when you make an All-Star team. Fans and management alike will see you in a different light, and because you’ve shown them you can perform at a certain level, dropping below that par will carry certain consequences.
That puts Marsh, who’s playing on a one-year, $5.2 million deal as part of his second year of arbitration, in critical territory as the back half of the season kicks off. And when your nine-time All-Star teammate essentially throws your former manager under the bus by criticizing the way he used you, that ups the ante on your production even more. Marsh is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2028, and his play the rest of this season could dictate whether he earns a long-term deal, or forces Philly to evaluate other options.
Bryce Harper surely still has that ‘Not Elite’ T-shirt somewhere in his closet. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Harper has no problem speaking his mind regarding the decisions of his superiors.
Few players in the 21st century have played the game with a competitive edge that rivals Harper’s, and that hasn’t changed in 2026, especially with the extra motivation coming from his president of baseball operations during the offseason.
Harper has slugged baseballs at an elite clip this season. He currently sits top-25 in both slugging (.496) and OPS (.863), while his 20 homers before the All-Star break were his second-most since 2018. But Harper was brought in to Philadelphia to deliver one thing: A Commissioner’s Trophy, and although he’s come close, up to this point the cigars have gone smokeless.
Harper’s generally been a plus postseason player, and tore the cover off the baseball in the ‘22 and ‘23 playoffs, combining for 11 HR, 21 RBI and 19 walks. But his pace slowed in ‘24, and especially last year, when he hit .200 (3-for-15) without a homer or RBI in four games against the Dodgers.
There hasn’t been much revealed publicly about Dave Dombrowski and Harper’s dialogue this season, but Dombrowski has shown he’s not unwilling to make major moves to get the Phillies where he wants them. And he’s already hinted at not being entirely committed to Harper. In that case, Harper could very well be playing for more than just a title as the season nears its conclusion.
Just a few short years ago, Aaron Nola was the Phillies’ best starting pitcher. Now, the top of the team's rotation is perhaps the best in the league, with a pair of ‘26 All-Stars in Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo, alongside a would-be All-Star in Zack Wheeler. And Nola may be the worst of the bunch.
That’s not from a talent perspective. Few pitchers in the league have the ability to mix four reliable pitches, while using them all at comparable rates, and possessing the breaking-ball efficiency (his breaking-ball run value is 94th percentile per Baseball Savant) that Nola does -- and that’s all while his fastball sits in the low 90s.
But his numbers have been mediocre the past few years, and after going 5-10 with a 6.01 ERA in 2025, he’s off to a 3-7 start in 20 appearances (he had 17 last year). Nola’s .278 average against is the highest of his career, as is his 1.45 WHIP. He’s given up more than five runs five times this season (last occurring in a 7-run effort June 29 vs. Pittsburgh).
Nola, 33, is under contract with the Phillies through 2030, having signed a seven-year, $172 million deal in 2024. But again, the Phillies are in win-now mode, with an average age that basically sits middle-of-the-pack (16th) across the league. Nola’s contract is expensive, but so is a rotational slot that is costing the Phillies more games than it’s winning them. And the Phillies would rather take a financial loss or explore trade options than take forfeits in the win column through 2030 if Nola can't turn things around.
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