Mets' latest injury, absurd IL roster only helps Phillies early in wide-open NL East

With just under two weeks remaining until the start of the regular season, the Philadelphia Phillies are one of only a few NL East teams on track to start the new season without significant injuries to any of the team's players ahead of Opening Day. With Matt Strahm reportedly feeling better after suffering an impingement in his left throwing shoulder, the All-Star left-handed reliever is scheduled for a second evaluation by the Phillies training staff on Saturday, and that's good news for a team hoping to begin the 2025 season at full-strength.

And a healthy Phillies team could jump out to a fast start again this year, especially considering the current health concerns facing a couple of its NL East rivals like the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. While the Braves await the early season returns of starting pitcher Spencer Strider from an internal bracing procedure and 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr from a torn ACL, the Mets are a team that got hit hard by the injury bug this spring and will begin the season with nearly 20 percent of the team's projected Opening Day roster starting the year on the IL.

Mets' latest injury, absurd IL roster only helps Phillies early in wide-open NL East

Following a surprise turnaround during the 2024 season, the Mets established themselves as a legit contender after defeating the Phillies in the NLDS, advancing to the NLCS where they lost to the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. Hoping to build on last year's success, the Mets had a very active and expensive offseason after the team signed top free agent outfielder Juan Soto to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract, and re-signed power-hitting first baseman Pete Alonso to a two-year, $54 million deal before the start of spring training.

It's safe to say that very little has gone right for the Mets in spring training camp this year. Injuries to starting pitchers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas set the tone early in camp, and that was followed by the loss of starting catcher Francisco Alvarez for 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured left hamate bone, while offseason addition Nick Madrigal fractured his left shoulder and could be lost for the entire 2025 season.

And now the Mets have another injury to deal with after infielder Jeff McNeil suffered a right oblique strain that will keep him sidelined him for the next 10 days, and will likely cause him to start the season on the IL, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. While the Mets' offense boasts a trio of sluggers in Soto, Alonso and Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos and the rest of the Mets lineup remain a question mark, with largely unproven youngsters Luisangel Acuña and Bret Baty in line to start the season on the Opening Day roster.

The current injury situations playing out with the Mets and Braves are obviously very good news for the Phillies. With both rival squads down key contributors over the first two months of the season, the Phillies have a chance to jump out of the gate and put some distance in the standings with a solid start to the season. While injuries are unavoidable over the course of a 162-game MLB season, if the Phillies can break spring training camp with a healthy roster this year, this is clearly a team that could jump out to a quick start and dominate the NL East early again this season.

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