In case you haven't heard, things aren't going well for the Philadelphia Phillies. After losing four straight games to finish the last homestand, they went on the road and won one out of six. Two losses to the Toronto Blue Jays followed by a three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates has Phillies fans pushing the panic button.
The nine losses in their last 10 games has undone the ground the Phillies made up with their nine-game win streak that preceded this June swoon. At 37-28, they're 4.5 games behind the New York Mets in the NL East heading into Monday. It's not an insurmountable deficit, but they're going to have to start playing better baseball, and soon.
That will have to start tonight when they welcome the 40-25 Chicago Cubs to town for a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. But what can the Phillies do to fix what apparently looks like a broken team right now?
The front office has already made one roster move, calling up No. 24 prospect Otto Kemp on Saturday, per MLB.com's Paul Casella. Although, that move, which fans had been clamoring for, came at the expense of first baseman Bryce Harper landing on the 10-day IL with a wrist injury. We'd all rather have Harper healthy and in the lineup, but alas, that's not reality. Even without Harper, the Phillies should have enough veteran firepower in the lineup to get the job done.
The Phillies need to fix the top of the lineup
The offense needs to find a way to get back on track, and in a hurry. One easy change that manager Rob Thomson can, and should make, is to drop Bryson Stott from the leadoff spot. Hitting out of the one-hole, mostly against right-handed pitching, Stott has taken a massive step back.
Trea Turner is built to be a leadoff hitter. He's hitting both righties (.288/.345/.412) and lefties (.325/.371/.518), has the speed to wreak havoc on the base paths, and should be the table setter for Kyle Schwarber every game, not just against left-handed starters.
Admittedly, the top of the lineup doesn't look quite as intimidating without Harper, but Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos should be able to get the job done. Although, as The Athletic's Matt Gelb points out, as a group the Phillies are struggling to hit non-fastballs this year, ranking 25th in the majors (subscription required).
The Phillies need to do something about the outfield
It might be the worst kept secret in Philadelphia: the Phillies' outfield is bad. Again.
The Phillies have received 0.1 fWAR from their outfield group this season. That ranks 24th in baseball, just ahead of teams like the Atlanta Braves, the Pirates and the Chicago White Sox. Those aren't teams you want to be associated with as an expected World Series contender, but here we are.
Hitting .282/.323/.420, Nick Castellanos has had a consistent season at the plate and will make the plays on the balls he gets to in right field. It's the rest of the outfield that has been beyond disappointing.
Max Kepler and his .208/.295/.365 slash line is dangerously close to being labeled a bust of an offseason signing. While he still has time to turn things around, he has gotten worse each month so far. Brandon Marsh is what he is, and Johan Rojas has taken a nosedive since getting off to a hot start in April. And don't even get us started on Weston Wilson.
People keep saying that No. 3 prospect Justin Crawford isn't ready, even though his slash line (.349/.416/.448) keeps getting better looking with each passing week. Even though he still has a wildly high ground ball rate (63 percent), he's a hit machine.
#Phillies No. 3 prospect Justin Crawford has eight hits in his last 15 at-bats with three RBIs and five runs scored. @USAFRecruiting #AimHigh pic.twitter.com/RrhAOXwIYy
— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) May 6, 2025
You never want to rush a young player — he's still 21 — but the Phillies desperately need an infusion of energy. They brought Rojas up from Double-A in 2023, so who's to say they can't catch lightning in a bottle again with Crawford?
Maybe giving Crawford a look wouldn't be the worst thing right now, although pinning your hopes on an unproven prospect isn't the best way to turn a rancid run around.
The Phillies need to make Orion Kerkering the closer
Closer Jordan Romano looked like he had righted the ship in May, posting a 2.53 ERA and grabbing six saves in six chances. He has given up three runs in 2 1/3 innings over three outings in June and isn't consistent enough to be the one to get the ball in the ninth, whether with a lead or in a tie game.
You know who has been good? Orion Kerkering.
Perhaps it's time for Thomson to start doing what we thought might happen this season: hand the ball to the 24-year-old in the ninth inning.
After a tough April, which resulted in a 5.56 ERA for Kerkering, the right-hander has an 0.64 ERA in 16 games since May 1 and hasn't had an earned run charged to him since May 6. He still has a problem with free passes, issuing nine walks in 14 innings over that span. According to Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic, Kerkering has fixed the movement of his sweeper (subscription required), which has helped him to his run of success.
Orion Kerkering, Vicious 86mph Sweeper. 💫
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 3, 2025
19 inches of horizontal break pic.twitter.com/DOMhzM1IuI
It's slim pickings down in the Phillies' thin bullpen right now, but, it might be time to throw something at the wall and see what sticks. At the very least, the Phillies should consider giving Kerkering some chances to close out games when Romano is in one of his ruts.