Not adding a clutch power bat at the trade deadline
When the Phillies were rolling with their potent offense for much of the first three months of the season, no one was worrying that they couldn’t hit or score runs. However, when worrying signs of the offense beginning to struggle became apparent in July, the front office did not appear to take that issue too seriously, expecting the lineup to eventually get out of the funk.
Nevertheless, the Phillies still had the opportunity to provide a safety net to fall back on by acquiring a power bat or two with the trade deadline approaching. Despite strong candidates such as Brent Rooker of the Oakland Athletics and even Jorge Soler of the San Francisco Giants available in the trade market, the Phillies never ended up being proactive in pursuing such potential game-changers.
Not only would they have provided valuable offensive insurance to the club, but there's no doubt they would have made a significant impact in the lineup that could have been the difference in putting the Phillies over the top.
Just taking a look at their final two months of the season, Rooker compiled a stellar .293 average with an .879 OPS, 29 runs scored, 13 home runs and 35 RBI over just 50 games for the lowly Athletics. Soler batted .243 with an .849 OPS along with 27 runs scored, 11 doubles, nine home runs and 24 RBI in just 49 games after he was traded to the Braves to help them reach the postseason.
By now we all know what Hays ended up producing for the Phillies. So when the Phillies had trouble generating runs during the NLDS, they finally realized what they painfully missed out on at the deadline. In effect, they could have been the difference between the Phillies moving on in the playoffs versus going home.