3 Phillies players who shouldn't make the postseason roster
The Phillies have some decisions to make about who to take along on what will hopefully be a deep postseason run.
The MLB postseason is right around the corner, and the Philadelphia Phillies are still battling for the top spot in the National League. It's worth the fight, as it guarantees a bye past the first round and home-field advantage through the playoffs.
The Phillies have taken an interesting road to get here. They ran amuck in the first half, having their way with the league en route to a league-best 62-34 first-half record. Then things got tough post-All-Star break. They collectively struggled to string wins together for the better part of a month. But they're back on track with just over a week to play in the regular season, having gone 23-12 since Aug. 14.
While they continue to joust with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers for the No. 1 seed in the NL, and likely all of Major League Baseball, thoughts start to turn toward the playoffs. It's hard to stay in the moment and not look ahead to what the Phillies' postseason roster might look like, hopefully when they open things up at Citizens Bank Park for the NLDS on Oct. 5.
3 Phillies players who shouldn't make the postseason roster
Manager Rob Thomson will already have filled in most of the 26-man postseason roster. He'll have very few hard decisions with such a star-studded cast at his disposal, but there are some question marks at the edges of the roster.
Whether due to inconsistent and poor performance, injury or roster construction based on opponent, it's still not obvious who will fill in the final postseason roster spots, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. It appears the Phillies are leaning toward carrying 14 position players instead of the usual 13-13 position player-pitcher split, according to Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Regardless of how the Phillies structure the postseason roster, some players can have a case made for not playing in October. While, ultimately, these players could easily find themselves playing in Red October, and it wouldn't be surprising if they do, here are some reasons why they shouldn't.
Spencer Turnbull
Spencer Turnbull is on the mend and on his way back to the active roster, apparently. The right-hander has been out since late June with a right lat strain but has been throwing at the team's Clearwater complex. He recently threw a live bullpen and could possibly return for the playoffs, according to MLB.com. He got up to 64 pitches overall in the up-and-down session. The team hopes he'll be able to throw a simulated game or a quick trip to Triple-A Lehigh Valley this weekend.
The Phillies are trying to get him back in time to help with the playoff run, but should they really be counting on him to be a part of their postseason roster?
The 32-year-old, who signed a one-year deal with the Phillies, did yeoman's work earlier this season as a rotation fill-in for the injured Taijuan Walker. In his six starts through the end of April, Turnbull posted a 1.67 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings. Things didn't go as smoothly when he was moved to the bullpen. He ran a 4.26 ERA in 19 innings as he attempted to learn how to pitch in relief.
Turnbull won't be a starter. Right now, those spots are taken by ace Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola while Cristopher Sánchez seems to have the edge for the No. 3 rotation spot ahead of the struggling Ranger Suárez. Usually, that's all you need for postseason starting pitchers. There's no harm in sticking him in the bullpen, but asking him to come into a playoff environment after not having faced live MLB action for more than three months might be a dicey proposition.
Weston Wilson
This isn't anything personal against Weston Wilson, who has done more than enough for the Phillies this season. Unfortunately, if you're looking at the bench spots available, even if the Phillies carry 14 position players, there's a chance Wilson will be the odd man out.
As a righty, he won't get a roster spot ahead of Edmundo Sosa, Johan Rojas or Austin Hays, who has turned a corner in his recovery (subscription required) and is close to returning to action, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Alex Coffey.
Wilson has really good numbers if you just look at his line for the season. Ahead of Friday’s action, he's batting .293/.349/.507 with three home runs, four doubles and eight RBI in 83 plate appearances over 36 games. However, if you dig in a little, those numbers don't tell the whole story.
He has had a huge impact in a very short time this season. He was blistering hot for a stretch of 26 plate appearances from the end of July 31 to Aug. 24, a run that included his epic cycle against the Washington Nationals. He batted .520/.538/1.000 with a pair of home runs, four doubles and a triple during this hot streak and helped the team get out of its post-All-Star break rut.
Outside of that streak, the 30-year-old hasn't had much of an impact. He slashed .192/.214/.308 in 28 plate appearances before his hot stretch, and since Aug. 25 is slashing .167/.310/.208 with a 37.9 percent strikeout rate in 29 plate appearances before Friday.
If he doesn't make the Phillies' postseason roster, he'll likely be one of the players considered as the next man up in case of an injury. He's deserving of that, but it will be hard to carry such a cold bat into the playoffs, even if just on the bench.
Taijuan Walker
What a season Taijuan Walker has had — and not in a good way.
As if last postseason's exclusion wasn't enough drama, he has created more glaring questions this season. After a shaky end to 2023, Walker was on the playoff roster last year but famously collected dust in the bullpen without getting a sniff of action. The Phillies essentially wasted a roster spot on the 32-year-old veteran.
This season has been a disaster for Walker. Around a couple of stints on the IL, the right-hander has pitched to a 6.91 ERA and 1.67 WHIP. He hasn't been known as a big strikeout pitcher for the last couple of seasons, and this year has been even worse. He's sporting a 6.26 K/9, his lowest since 2018 and close to a career-worst.
He was never going to get a start in the postseason, and that was before his most recent disaster against the New York Mets. As bad as his starts have gone, he hasn't been much better as a reliever. Walker has faced 35 batters and given up 10 hits, with opponents hitting .303 with an .888 OPS against him.
The kind of contact he has been giving up is concerning. His FIP is 6.94, and his 7.01 xERA is higher than his ERA. He's running a career-high 46.5 percent hard-hit rate and 13.8 percent barrel rate, which bit him against the Mets, who launched four home runs off the right-hander.
With a 15.4 percent strikeout rate (5.7 percent out of the bullpen) and a 6.6 percent swinging strike rate this season, Walker isn't going to be an option out of the bullpen if Rob Thomson wants someone to get punchouts in a big postseason moment.
Right now, there's no way the Phillies can carry Walker on the postseason roster. It might be time to say goodbye until the spring.
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