Philadelphia Phillies Receive Modest Grade for 2024 After Disappointing Ending

The Philadelphia Phillies finished 2024 in disappointment and received a modest grade because of it.

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. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies entered 2024 with World Series aspiration and must be disappointed after leaving it without a ring.

Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer recently put together report cards for each MLB team's calendar year that mostly took into account the season and following months after that.

The Phillies, despite winning the NL East, received a "B" grade.

Philadelphia finished the year with a 95-67 record and lost the NLDS to the New York Mets. They will enter 2025 as mostly the same team.

While the ending might not have been exactly what fans or players wanted, there was still a lot to like about this season that should carry over into the next one.

The best thing about the team is clearly the pitching staff.

Zack Wheeler not only lived up to the hype as the team's ace following his expensive extension, he was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.

Wheeler is playing at the best level of his career and, once again, came close to winning a Cy Young.

Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez also starred at different points of the campaign.

They entered the offseason needing one more player to bring it all together for a five-man rotation and got that done with a trade for Jesús Luzardo.

There is no doubt they now have the best rotation in baseball.

Giving that staff support will be the same stars who did it last year.

Kyle Schwarber is one of the best leadoff guys in baseball, Bryce Harper is one of the best players period, and Alec Bohm made his first All-Star team.

That is all fantastic stuff, but the problem is that nothing has really been done to change the weakest part of the team; the outfield.

The star-powered offense had multiple stretches throughout the year that created question marks heading into the postseason. The supporting cast wasn't good enough and hasn't been improved upon.

Phillies outfielders posted a wRC+ of 97 last year, which puts them a few points below league average. That's with Nick Castellanos and Bradon Marsh each finishing above average.

No offense to Max Kepler, but him being the only player brought in to address their last outfield spot isn't good enough to make the team seem like they are ready for a World Series.

Kepler, for reference, finished 2024 with a wRC+ of 94.

Perhaps the pitching staff will continue to carry them a bit further, but the front office was expected to be more aggressive this winter.