Following the re-signing of Aaron Nola this offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies appear firmly set to have another run at the World Series in 2024 with their star-studded lineup. Nola and Zack Wheeler will once again anchor the Phillies’ solid starting rotation, with the likes of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, and Nick Castellanos leading the offensive attack.
The team has come very close in each of the past two seasons, so this upcoming season could be their season of destiny.
A recent article by Will Leitch of MLB.com made some bold predictions for the upcoming World Series winners for the next 10 years. Phillies fans can rejoice in the fact that their beloved ballclub was predicted to finally be successful in capturing their third championship title. However, the downside is that it won’t be happening any time soon.
Instead of 2024 being the year they get over the hump and win the Fall Classic, the Phillies were predicted to win it all six years later, in 2030, when they face the rapidly improving Detroit Tigers.
Leitch highlighted the fact that with the main core of star players (Nola, Harper, and Turner) being intact for the rest of this decade, one would expect them to win it all at least once while together. However, it will take until Nola’s final season of his contract before they can finally pull it off. On top of that, despite the Phillies currently having a farm system in the lower echelons of the league, they will need promising prospects Orion Kerkering, Andrew Painter, Justin Crawford and others who will all be in their prime at that time to help the ballclub complete the feat.
So, for all the Phillies fans, sorry to disappoint you, but based on Leitch's predictions, we may need to wait a while before everyone can celebrate a World Series. Patience is a virtue, as they say.
On the good side though, Leitch did admit that he made the same type of predictions three years ago and so far, he has gone 0-for-3 in guessing the past three World Series winners correctly. With that in mind, the Phillies faithful will sincerely hope his streak continues so that their favorite team will finally get it done and reach the Holy Grail in 2024.