Things are not going swimmingly for the Philadelphia Phillies at the moment. Firmly stamped as the top team in baseball for much of the first half, the Phillies have stumbled in the second half and are finding it difficult to climb out of their funk. Philly has lost six consecutive series and is 4-12 since the All-Star break as their grip on the top record in the National League gradually fades.
Following a series-opening loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, the Phillies have lost seven of their last eight and are now only a half-game ahead of LA for the NL's No. 1 seed. There's little margin for error in the final 50 games of the regular season if the Phils want to secure home-field advantage through the NLCS. They're still in the mix to finish with the best record in baseball too. Five teams are separated by 1 1/2 games for that title entering play on Tuesday.
The Phillies addressed their needs before the MLB trade deadline, swinging four trades in the week leading up to the July 30 endpoint. Among the notable names added were starting left fielder Austin Hays and right-handed reliever Carlos Estevez.
Philly boasts one of the most talented rosters in the league but the past few weeks show that even the mighty fall. There's not much the Phillies can do other than keep working to find their winning ways again. A few more tweaks to the roster and lineup over the next couple of weeks might put Philadelphia in a better spot though.
Phillies name their everyday center fielder
Center field is among the most important positions on the diamond. Few MLB teams can pencil an all-around great center fielder into their lineups. The Phillies are not one of those teams.
Philadelphia has used a platoon approach in center for much of the last six weeks after Johan Rojas got most of the playing time in April and May. Upon arriving from the Baltimore Orioles, Austin Hays was named the everyday left fielder, leaving Brandon Marsh to split time with Rojas in center. That should no longer be the case.
Marsh has done enough to warrant being the everyday center fielder for the Phillies. Yes, his numbers against left-handed pitching still leave much to be desired – he has a .504 OPS against lefties compared to .805 against righties – but Marsh deserves the label of being a bonafide starter.
The addition of Hays seems to have motivated Marsh. Before going 0-for-4 on Monday, Marsh hit .300 with two home runs and seven RBIs in eight games since Hays joined the team. The two have similar slash numbers overall, yet the Phillies tabbed Hays as a starter from the jump.
The Phillies haven’t shown their faith in Marsh against left-handed pitching, but Rojas hasn’t given them a good enough reason to be comfortable trotting him out versus a southpaw. They've essentially already pushed Marsh to be the starter as he's been in the lineup for eight of the last 11 games. Rojas can continue to get a spot start and be used for defensive purposes down the stretch, but Brandon Marsh is worthy of the everyday label.
Marchan begins permanent stay in big leagues
While J.T. Realmuto is undoubtedly still the Phillies' top option behind the plate, the 33-year-old can't catch 110+ games every season anymore. He's also set to become a free agent after the 2025 season. Could the door then be open for Rafael Marchan to take the reins?
Marchan impressed during his short stint with the Phils this season, posting a .294 average with seven extra-base hits in 17 games. He collected eight hits in a four-game stretch toward the end of his tenure before being demoted to Triple-A on July 20 in favor of longtime backup Garrett Stubbs.
Since then, Marchan has 11 hits in eight games and reached base in every game. Stubbs meanwhile is 5-for-40 since the start of July and is now hitting .188 on the season. Stubbs is an all-time vibes guy and will forever go down in Phillies backup catcher lore, but his play no longer warrants a bench spot.
He is not terrible as far as backup catchers go, but Marchan simply brings more to the table now. Why wouldn’t the Phillies give him more MLB experience and offer him a taste of the postseason? There is an argument to be made that Marchan should continue with everyday work instead of playing twice a week as a backup. Philadelphia might as well get the most out of every roster spot though.
Marchan could potentially be Philly's everyday catcher by 2026. A 60-40 percent split with Realmuto next season might not be out of the question either. The fact that we're discussing Philadelphia's backup catcher situation in such detail shows how great a season the Phillies are having.
New Jersey native makes Phillies debut
September call-ups are typically reserved for feel-good stories or top prospects who have earned a shot in The Show. The Phillies have a mixture of that in infield prospect and New Jersey native Buddy Kennedy. The 25-year-old grew up a diehard Philadelphia sports fan and graduated from the same high school as Mike Trout in Millville, N.J.
The Phillies acquired Kennedy in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in June. He's done nothing but tear the cover off the ball since, posting a .344/.453/.604 slash line in 41 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He's played four different positions as well, excelling best at second base.
There aren't many candidates worth promoting in September with none of Philadelphia's top prospects ready to take the next step. The Phillies are in a place where they don’t need a call-up to contribute much and instead can focus on helping that minor leaguer develop with a glimmer of time in the bigs.
Buddy Kennedy made his MLB debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 and has 46 major league games under his belt. He appeared in six games with the Tigers this April, hitting a home run as one of two hits in 10 at-bats. He has a .205 batting average in 117 MLB at-bats.
The Phillies have already seen a movie-like plot unfold earlier this year with pitcher Tyler Phillips. Another New Jersey native, Phillips made his MLB debut in July and tossed a complete game shutout in his third career start in front of a capacity crowd at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies don’t want those moments to be the highlight of their 2024 season, but Kennedy presents them with another chance to create a priceless memory and bring more positive energy to the clubhouse and fanbase.
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