Philadelphia Phillies Rank as Penultimate Team in Way-Too-Early Power Rankings

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the best rosters in the sport, and it will stay virtually intact through the offseason.

Oct 8, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) looks on before game three against the New York Mets in the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies entered the 2024 season with what was, on paper, the best roster in Major League Baseball.

The Phillies had the deepest lineup with Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto, the deepest starting rotation with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, and Cristopher Sanchez, and one of the deepest bullpens with Matt Strahm, Jeff Hoffman, Orion Kerkering, and Jose Alvarado.

For the majority of the year, they played like the team with the best roster in baseball, pacing the sport with their outstanding record before beginning to drift away after the All-Star Break and finishing the year two wins shy of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

While Philadelphia did win its first National League East Division Championship since 2011 in the process, another early postseason exit left fans and players alike disappointed.

In a recent article from The Athletic, Stephen J. Nesbitt, Rustin Dodd, and C. Trent Rosecrans gave their way-too-early power rankings for teams entering the 2025 season, with the Phillies ranking second.

"The Phillies are proven, tested and have just three free agents from a team that won 95 games and cruised to a division title," writes Rosecrans, "those are all good signs."

What has not been a good sign, however, is how poor of a job the front office has done at the MLB trade deadline over the last two years.

In 2023, Philadelphia's only moves were to bring in pitcher Michael Lorenzen and utility man Rodolfo Castro.

Lorenzen did throw a no-hitter, but manager Rob Thomson left the pitcher in to throw 124 pitches, essentially rendering him useless for the rest of the campaign.

Castro found his way into 14 games, batting only .100/.156/.100 with no extra-base hits, two RBI, and a -27 OPS+, that means he was 127 percent worse than league average for those keeping track at home, across 32 plate appearances in 14 games.

This year, the Phillies' "big moves" were bringing in reliever Carlos Estevez and outfielder Austin Hays, one man only being successful on a non-contending team, and the other a fourth outfielder or weak-side platoon option that Thomson tried to force into an everyday role.

Neither guy worked out for Philadelphia, with Estevez blowing multiple games (do not let a reliever's ERA fool you into thinking they are good), and Hays being used incorrectly and mostly being injured.

We still have to wait and see how this offseason will play out for the Phillies, but they desperately need to add Juan Soto to the roster to put this club over the hump and make them a World Series winner, not just a division winner.

With how the offseason began, however, with manager Rob Thomson getting an undeserved and unearned contract extension, hopes should not be high for the front office's abilities.