Philadelphia Phillies Named National League East Team With 'Most At Stake'
![Oct 5, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A general view of the postseason logo on the field before game one of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Oct 5, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A general view of the postseason logo on the field before game one of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5926,h_3333,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_phillies/01jjt3ch913hz65qsdwp.jpg)
The Philadelphia Phillies have gotten extremely close to glory over the last several years, but as they say, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
After making a surprise run to the World Series two years ago, the Phillies lost a heartbreaker to the Houston Astros followed up the next season by a return to the NLCS before another crushing blow at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
This past season, things were poised to be different. Philadelphia had their best regular season in nearly a decade and a half, winning their first division title since 2011. For a huge chunk of 2024, the Phillies looked like the best team in baseball.
But instead of finally getting over the hump and bringing a championship banner back to Broad Street, Philadelphia suffered their earliest exit during this run of success in what was a four-game embarrassment at the hands of their hated division rival New York Mets.
It's no secret - and Dave Dombrowski has made it known - the Phillies have one of the most star studded rosters in baseball and have even continued to add to it over the last three winters.
Headed into 2025, things are starting to approach championship or bust territory for Philadelphia and the pressure is ramping up.
In an article this week, Will Leitch of MLB.com named a team in each division with the most at stake this season, and for the National League East named the Phillies as an easy choice.
"This team is jam-packed with aging stars who want to bring that championship trophy back to Philly, led of course by Bryce Harper, the two-time MVP and likely Hall of Famer who is missing only that one huge line from his resume," Leitch wrote. "And yet, even as the Phillies have gotten better over the past three years (increasing their regular-season win total each time), they have gotten further away in the postseason (going from the World Series to the NLCS to the NLDS)."
Quite simply, it's time for Philadelphia to get it done. They have the roster, they have the playoff experience, and they have the infrastructure in place to win a championship.
Nobody would have greatly shamed them if they lost in the NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they moved in the wrong direction and took another step backwards in the playoffs.
As the Dodgers get better and the National League looks even harder to win, the Phillies must continue to re-tool the roster and improve, taking steps towards winning and winning big rather than simply being content with being in the conversation.
The window is not imminently closing, but it's not as wide open as it once was either. It's not quite now or never this season, but it's getting closer and closer to that level.