3 Philadelphia Phillies Who Disappointed in NLDS Loss to New York Mets

Who were the biggest disappointments for the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS?

Oct 9, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jeff Hoffman (23) throws a pitch in the fifth inning against the New York Mets in game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies suffered an early exit in the National League Division Series, as they were eliminated by the New York Mets in four games. 

It was a tough series for the Phillies, as they didn’t hit well and their bullpen really let them down. Coming into the postseason, this was a team that on paper looked like it checked all the boxes to be a World Series contender. 

Unfortunately, despite high expectations, 2024 was a letdown. Now, the Phillies will be going back to the drawing board to try and figure out how to improve this very talented team and get them to the World Series in 2025. 

However, when looking back at the series against the Mets, there were a few players who unfortunately stood out for all the wrong reasons. Here were the three players who disappointed the most in the NLDS for Philadelphia. 

Matt Strahm 

It has sadly become a common theme for the Phillies in the postseason that they just simply don’t get enough from their bullpen. This season, Matt Strahm was excellent for Philadelphia, as he totaled a 1.87 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 62.2 innings pitched. 

However, in three games against the Mets, the lefty allowed four runs in 2.1 innings of work. During the regular season, there was only one month when the southpaw allowed more than four runs in the entire month, which goes to show how frustrating of a series against New York it was. 

Alec Bohm  

One of the shocking performances for the Phillies in their lineup was that of their starting third baseman, Alec Bohm. In 2024, the slugger had the best season of his career, despite missing some time in September. Bohm emerged as the middle of the order hitter that the Phillies hoped he would be, and he was an RBI machine for them. 

However, against the Mets, Bohm totaled just one hit in the series, and was actually benched for the start of Game 2. Oddly enough, that was the only game of the series that Philadelphia won. For a player that had 97 RBIs in the regular season, not recording one in the playoffs was a big disappointment. 

Jeff Hoffman 

Easily the biggest disappointment for the Phillies in the playoffs was the performance of Jeff Hoffman. In 2023, the right-hander was one of the few relief pitchers that Philadelphia was able to lean on. However, against the Mets, Hoffman was pretty lost, as he allowed six earned runs in 1.1 innings of work. 

Despite a great regular season, the Phillies might look to move on from Hoffman this offseason, as he is a free agent. Even though the by committee work of the bullpen worked well for Philadelphia in the regular season, they clearly need a lockdown closer this offseason.