The Philadelphia Phillies finished three games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in Major League Baseball in 2024. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series.
As if the Dodgers, who feature multiple All-Stars and MVPs such as Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, couldn’t get any better, the organization added star talent this offseason to an already loaded roster. The World Series champs signed All-Star closers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, two-time Cy Young Blake Snell, 23-year-old Japanese starting pitching phenom Roki Sasaki and re-signed All-Star outfielder Teoscar Hernández.
"They've done nothing illegal, so how they spend their money is how they spend their money, you can't do anything about it, you can't control that,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said on The Phillies Show podcast about the Dodgers’ offseason. “All you can control is what you do and you just go out and compete.”
Rob Thomson unfazed by Dodgers' depth, knows Phillies match up well
The Phillies have one of the most talented rosters in baseball and added some key pieces in hopes of fixing some issues that caused their second-half collapse. Their skipper, Thomson, doesn’t seem worried about the superteam out west.
“This is Major League Baseball, they're all big leaguers and we got a really good club,” Thomson said. “They can only play nine guys, that's all they can do, and they can only start one pitcher every night. We've got a really good rotation, we've got a really good lineup, we got a really good bullpen, so we'll match up fine with them."
The Phillies faced the Dodgers six times during the 2024 season. They had a 5-1 record against the NL West powerhouse and outscored them 39-14.
The Phillies’ starting rotation was tied for the sixth-best ERA in 2024 and had the third-best in the National League, both better than the Dodgers. The rotation got a major upgrade this offseason with the acquisition of former Miami Marlins left-handed starter Jesús Luzardo. The 27-year-old projects to end the team’s No. 5 starter issues that plagued them a season ago.
The Phillies had the seventh-best bullpen ERA in the NL in 2024, 0.41 points behind the Dodgers. The ball club took a hit losing late-inning relievers Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez in free agency but added former Toronto Blue Jays All-Star closer Jordan Romano. They’re banking on José Alvarado to return to his dominant 2023 form and for 23-year-old Orion Kerkering to take the next step in his development.
The Phillies’ lineup is as good as it gets in baseball, featuring two-time MVP Bryce Harper. They ranked top five in the majors in runs, hits, doubles, RBI, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and stolen bases in 2024.
As long as they play smart baseball and handle their own business, the Phillies can stack up well against any team, including the Dodgers.