5 Phillies players under the most pressure entering the 2024 season
Which Phillies players need to step up their game right from the get-go in 2024?
With spring training officially underway, the Philadelphia Phillies begin their quest to make the postseason this upcoming season. As the players ramp up their activity to get into the best possible game shape, some Phillies players will enter the 2024 season under some added pressure to perform.
Here, we will take a look at five Phillies who will be carrying more weight on their shoulders than expected to step up for the team this season.
Whit Merrifield
It may sound cruel to put the pressure on the Phillies’ newest addition, Whit Merrifield, immediately. After all, he has just started to get his feet wet and acclimatize to his new team, so there shouldn’t be that many expectations of him just yet, right?
Well, actually, there should be because if you look at the main additions the Phillies made during this offseason, Merrifield represents the biggest and only outside signing that the team made that will become a significant part of their everyday roster.
On the good side, Merrifield had a solid season last year with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 145 games, he batted .272 with a .700 OPS, 66 runs scored, 27 doubles, 11 home runs, 67 RBI and 26 stolen bases, leading to the third All-Star selection of his career. More importantly, he played effectively no matter where the Jays placed him in the field and in their batting order.
But because the Phillies’ major league roster appears relatively the same as last year other than the addition of Merrifield, the success of the Phillies’ offseason moves will largely lie on the shoulders of Merrifield’s performance in 2024. Hopefully, with the strong motivation from wanting to play for a winner, he can ultimately help make the Phillies a winner and make their investment a smart one.
Johan Rojas
Last season, Johan Rojas turned out to be a pleasant surprise for the Phillies when he was called up to the big leagues following the All-Star break. With the team’s outfield defense in question for much of the season, the sudden promotion of one of their top prospects quickly helped resolve that glaring issue.
Not only did Rojas help stabilize the Phillies’ defensive play substantially in the outfield, but he also led the team with 15 DRS in just 40 starts and 57 games overall. As a bonus, he performed solidly at the plate as well, compiling a .302 batting average, .771 OPS, and 111 OPS+, with 24 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, two home runs, 23 RBI and 14 stolen bases in just 149 at-bats. Not bad for a rookie just making his MLB debut for two and a half months.
However, Rojas’ bat became exposed during the playoffs, showing that some work still needs to be done in terms of his development with his hitting. During the postseason, despite maintaining his usual elite defense in the outfield, he sputtered tremendously at the plate with an atrocious .093 batting average and .276 OPS, with just four hits and 15 strikeouts in 43 at-bats in 13 games. As a result, he needs to show he can make the right adjustments to handle MLB pitching.
Although it's expected that Rojas will have a good shot at starting the upcoming season on the major league roster, along with Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos in the outfield, the recent addition of Merrifield has complicated things. Since the veteran Merrifield is more than capable of playing a solid game in the outfield, along with sporting a strong bat, it has now put the pressure on Rojas to perform to his best if he wants to maintain a starting gig with the Phillies for 2024.
If he is unable to meet the expectations at the plate, he could potentially be relegated to the bench or even to the minors if his offensive deficiencies become too large that even his defensive play cannot overcome.
José Alvarado
José Alvarado was perhaps the best Phillies bullpen arm in 2023. After putting up solid numbers during his second season with the ballclub in 2022, Alvarado took his game to another level last season. In 2023, he registered a stellar 1.74 ERA, 249 ERA+, and 1.16 WHIP, giving up only eight earned runs all year, along with 18 walks and a whopping 64 strikeouts in just 41 1/3 innings. The only negative thing for Alvarado last year was perhaps when he was sidelined with elbow inflammation twice, causing him to miss two and a half months of game action.
With 2023 closer Craig Kimbrel joining the Baltimore Orioles this offseason via free agency, Alvarado becomes the prime candidate to take over the closing duties for the team in 2024. After all, he has done so successfully on a part-time basis for the ballclub in the past, registering 17 saves since 2021, including picking up admirably for Kimbrel when he faltered a bit down the stretch. However, Alvarado has never done it as a full-time gig before, so it will come down to whether he is both mentally and physically ready for it.
This could put some pressure on Alvarado not only to perform but to make sure he stays healthy enough to fulfill the role, as the Phillies can’t afford him missing a chunk of time like last season. The Phillies didn’t invest in any insurance options, so the backup plan after Alvarado would be the electric yet wild Gregory Soto, who had closed games for the Detroit Tigers. Even unproven rookie Orion Kerkering has the stuff but may not be ready for prime time just yet.
The last thing the team needs is a closer-by-committee approach; as for a team looking to seriously contend for the World Series, you can’t have that kind of uncertainty on who you think will get the job done at the end of each ballgame.
J.T. Realmuto
If you look at J.T. Realmuto's stats from 2023, you could say he didn’t have an exceptional season, but at least a solid one nonetheless. Overall, Realmuto batted .252 with a .762 OPS, along with 70 runs scored, 28 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs, 63 RBI and 16 stolen bases to boot in 135 games.
With numbers like that, why would he be under pressure to perform in 2024? Well, an apparent decline in his defensive game last season was hidden behind his productive offensive numbers. For someone who has been a two-time Gold Glove winner, with his last one coming in 2022, there was one glaring statistic that could prove to be worrisome for Realmuto and the Phillies in the long run.
In 2023, Realmuto allowed opposing teams to steal at a 78 percent success rate, which was the highest rate ever for his career if you don’t include the 2014 season when he saw just nine games of action with the Miami Marlins. Opposing baserunners took full advantage and stole 81 bases in just 104 attempts, marking the most stolen bases he had given up ever. His previous high was just 53 during the 2017 season, so it was a significant and troubling increase.
On top of that, he registered a -4 DRS, which was also his worst since the 2016 season. So basically, playing him at the catcher position last year was inadvertently giving the opposing team an advantage at scoring runs each and every game.
At age 33 entering the 2024 season, and not getting any younger, the pressure will be on Realmuto to show that he still has some game left as a defensive catcher. In particular, he needs to convince the Phillies that he can still throw runners out successfully for the upcoming year and beyond. Otherwise, if his decline witnessed last season is indeed a reality, the Phillies could have a bigger problem on their hands.
Replacing Realmuto with the backup Garrett Stubbs would severely suppress the Phillies’ offensive attack. If they move Realmuto to DH, it pushes Kyle Schwarber back into the field, which would be even more disastrous. As a result, he needs to quickly revert to his prior form before it turns into a tumbling chain-reaction situation for the ballclub.
Aaron Nola
Finally, no one will have as much pressure as team co-ace Aaron Nola will have entering the 2024 season. It may seem quite a long time ago, but back in November, Nola was re-signed by the Phillies to a massive seven-year, $172 million deal that will take him through to the 2030 season. After signing such a huge contract, expectations for Nola to deliver in the coming years will now be at an absolute high, as the Phillies sincerely hope they can justify their daring long-term investment.
It was a critical decision for the Phillies because in 2023, Nola actually posted a sub-par season compared to his usual standards. He compiled a 12-9 record with a gaudy 4.46 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 202 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings over 32 starts. But the more worrisome factor was the fact that he gave up some hard contact, including a whopping 32 home runs, which was the most he has surrendered in one season in his career.
With the Phillies putting all their marbles into Nola’s contract this offseason, they didn't recruit any more top-end starters and chose to run it back with the same starting rotation for the 2024 season. Nola could potentially make or break the Phillies’ season, depending on if he can regain his prior dominant form to lead the ballclub once again to success.
If he falters right from the get-go, the contract could turn out to be a huge albatross even before things even get started. But being the big-game pitcher he is, hopefully, the added intensity and contract security will help him thrive. Luckily, he's off to a good start in spring training.
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