Phillies' aging core will determine their World Series window
The Phillies' core is as strong as it has been since the Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Cole Hamels days. With a mixture of experienced vets and young and upcoming talent, the Phillies' core is somewhat diverse.
The club's offensive core includes long-term players such as Bryce Harper and Trea Turner — both of whom will be in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future. In the short term, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber play huge roles in the offense but are in the last year or two of their contracts with the club. Younger players in their pre-arbitration or early arbitration-eligible years are Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Brandon Marsh.
The pitching staff now has Nola signed long-term, Zack Wheeler — who is due to hit free agency after the season — Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sánchez to anchor the starting staff. Relievers Seranthony Domínguez, José Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman, and Orion Kerkering all have some more time with the club as well.
With this Phillies team, the core seems much larger than in previous years. The issue is that some of these core players could be gone in a year or two, and quite a few are already over 30 years old. While the Phillies have some developing prospects in the minor leagues, none of those players are guaranteed success in the big leagues. Even though this tight-knit group has not achieved the ultimate goal, they have amassed success that the Phillies have not seen in years.
Thomson feels that this group has the potential to win a World Series. During his post-extension press conference in Nashville on Tuesday, the Phillies manager discussed why he's content with bringing back much of last year's roster.
"I think you're going to get a better Stott, a better Bohm, the younger guys are going to improve a little bit," Thomson said. "And you know you've got a full year of Trea, that's going to be Trea, hopefully. And you're going to have Harper for a full year hopefully. I really like our roster. I felt like we had a great chance at winning a World Series and it really hurts me that we didn't."
It's clear that the players like playing for Thomson; he lets the clubhouse thrive and the guys on the team mesh well together. It's no surprise that Dave Dombrowski chose to give his skipper the chance to manage this group of players while they are together for another year or two.
It remains to be seen as to whether or not the 2024 Phillies will be the team to end the club's 15-year World Series drought, but the pieces are in place for another successful run.
The future is bright, with some highly touted prospects and a much better player development program. While many will be sad to see the inevitable break up of this core group, infusing young players will open up more financial flexibility for future success. Until that happens, however, enjoy this group and see if Thomson can be the next manager to hoist the World Series trophy on a stage in front of a frenzied Citizen's Bank Park.