For the Philadelphia Phillies, they may have had a somewhat successful season so far in 2023, with the team holding a winning record while currently holding down an important Wild Card playoff spot in the process. However, not everything has gone as smoothly for some of the players on the squad, with some encountering some struggles at certain points of the season, whereas for others, they just haven’t been effective at all. In such cases, their chances in returning to the ballclub after the end of this season could be in jeopardy.
Here, we take a look at five Phillies players in which if their struggles persist for the rest of the season, they may actually be playing their way out of the team’s 2024 plans.
Gregory Soto
For Gregory Soto, he was acquired from the Detroit Tigers in the trade that also brought Kody Clemens to the Phillies, in exchange for Nick Maton, Matt Vierling, and Donny Sands. The two-time All-Star and former Tigers closer was suppose to help augment the Phillies dominant bullpen, forming a strong fearsome core along with Craig Kimbrel, José Alvarado, and Seranthony Domínguez.
However, Soto has been quite a bit disappointing to say the least in a Phillies’ uniform so far in 2023, as he has posted a 3-4 record with a 4.25 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, giving up 20 earned runs, 17 walks and 41 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched. Certainly much more was expected from him after what the Phillies gave up in order to obtain his services. If he doesn’t start showing his effectiveness more down the stretch, he could definitely be deemed expendable at the end of the season.