The highwater mark of the current era of Philadelphia Phillies baseball came back in 2022 when the club made a Cinderella run all the way to the World Series before coming up just short. It’s been all downhill from there, as the Phils have bowed out of the playoffs earlier and earlier in the ensuing three seasons. Unfortunately, the 2026 Phillies are lightyears behind their 2022 counterparts, but they do still have a ray of hope.
When comparing the two clubs, one thing stands out: the core remains intact. A lineup anchored by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper is paired with a rotation headlined by Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. The current Phillies squad has some new star power in Trea Turner and Cristopher Sánchez, but the depth behind it is sorely lacking.
The Phillies had some unsung heroes taking on important roles in 2022. Jean Segura provided a .277 batting average at the bottom of the lineup, Alec Bohm posted a passable .713 OPS at third base, and J.T. Realmuto had an incredible 6.5 WAR season. Contrast that with this season, which has had horrifying production from the back half of the lineup; the entire outfield has been a mess, Bohm has had a career-worst season, and Realmuto has collected just 0.6 WAR in his advanced age.
Unfortunately, the dissimilarities don’t stop there. The Phillies have been desperate for a powerful right-handed bat to slot behind Harper in the cleanup spot, and they had just such a slugger back in 2022. Homegrown first baseman Rhys Hoskins (despite his tragic defense) mashed 30 home runs and posted a .794 OPS. No such masher exists for the current iteration, as the lifeless Alec Bohm has provided little protection in the four-hole.
What about the starting rotation? The three-headed monster of Wheeler, Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo is certainly the 2026 squad’s greatest strength, and it’s probably a notch or two better than the 2022 trio of Wheeler, Nola and Ranger Suarez.
The Phillies have less of a chance than they did in 2022, but they still have a chance
Unfortunately, this year’s team has zero depth behind them, as the ghost of Aaron Nola’s past throws batting practice every time out, while a hodge podge of Taijuan Walker, Andrew Painter and Alan Rangel have been scheduled losses in the fifth spot. The 2022 squad didn’t have a particularly impressive back end of the rotation, but any of Zach Eflin, Kyle Gibson or Bailey Falter would be Godsends today.
While the rotation is a relative strength this season, the bullpen has been anything but, as interim manager Don Mattingly has very few appealing options to try get the ball to elite closer Jhoan Duran. Headcases Orion Kerkering and José Alvarado have routinely squandered leads, while journeymen Tim Mayza and Chase Shugart are far too often called upon in nailbiters.
This 2026 Phillies team feels so much like that stumbling, bumbling, barely-keeping-their-head-above-water 2022 Phillies that snuck into the playoffs at the very last minute. That bullpen was awful, too. It wasn't until October they figured it out. Until then it was like this.
— John Stolnis (@JohnStolnis) August 9, 2026
The 2022 squad had a veritable embarrassment of riches in comparison, with deadline acquisition David Robertson slamming the door behind setup men Seranthony Domínguez and a then-effective Alvarado. That club also squeezed solid years out of Brad Hand, Andrew Bellatti and Connor Brogdon, giving skipper Rob Thomson plenty of options.
So what is the takeaway from all of this? Is it simply that a superior 2022 Phillies team couldn’t cross the finish line, so an over-the-hill, worn out, tiresome 2026 club certainly won’t be able to? Not quite.
The current Phillies are a largely unimpressive collection of talent. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski committed malpractice by not addressing enough of their weak spots at the trade deadline. Still, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a chance.
The Texas Rangers proved in 2023 that all a team needs is to make it to October to be able to win the World Series. The Phillies are facing a heck of an uphill climb to make it out of a National League that has been owned by the Los Angeles Dodgers in recent years, but if they play way over their heads in a playoff series and catch the Dodgers napping in a short series, they just might be able to do it. A lot would need to go right, but stranger things have happened.
Add us as a preferred source on Google