The Philadelphia Phillies have had a tumultuous season. Once firmly out of the playoff picture after firing manager Rob Thomson, the Phillies were firmly in a Wild Card spot.
However, the team has stumbled of late, giving the Arizona Diamondbacks the ability to creep in and steal the last playoff spot. Just two games ahead of Arizona, and now without star second baseman Luis Arraez for an undetermined period of time, the Phillies were hit with an unenviable label.
Stephen J. Nesbitt and Chad Jennings of The Athletic have named the Phillies as the worst lineup among playoff contenders, with Arraez’s injury only making things worse.
Why Are the Philadelphia Phillies Ranked That Low?
The Phillies were expected to contend at a high level once again with a veteran-laden roster. However, it hasn’t really worked out that way lately.
The Phillies are dead last in wRC+ in the month of September among teams still in contention, at 83. They are also 28th in baseball among all teams over the entire season. The Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds barely trail in this category.
For a lineup that includes Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm and Luis Arraez, among others, that’s unacceptable. But with that star-studded lineup and playoff experience, why isn’t that enough?
“For one, Arraez went down in a heap Thursday night as he tried to leg out an infield single,” Nesbitt and Jennings wrote. “For another, the lineup really has been dreadful for long stretches of this season. By wRC+, every Phillies regular except Schwarber, Harper and Arraez has been below average. Turner and J.T. Realmuto have had the worst seasons of their careers — it’s not close — and Brandon Marsh fell apart at the plate after an All-Star first half.”
But this team is resilient. We’ve seen it throughout the season, and they have the talent to make a run in October still, should they hang on.
Who’s A Candidate to Break Out in October?
Harper and Schwarber have had their fair share of big moments, and they’ve had a great 2026. Meanwhile, Arraez could be out for a while should the Phillies advance. So, who is a candidate to break out of their slump in October and anchor the Phillies?
Turner has had one of the most disappointing seasons in baseball on both sides of the ball. He has a .673 OPS while committing the most errors in baseball at 21. Even though Turner is a World Series champion, don’t count on a strong postseason.
Turner has a .256/.306/.376 slash line, well below his regular-season career slash line of .291/.343/.467 in 64 career postseason games.
Marsh was an All-Star in the first half of the season with a .301/.339/.490 slash line with 15 home runs.
However, he has slashed a putrid .185/.244/.264 with just three home runs in the second half. He is completely unusable against left-handed pitching and isn’t much better against righties. While he had a terrific 2023 postseason, he has faltered since.
The most likely player to break out of their slump may be someone completely unexpected.
Bohm might be the best candidate to be the Phillies’ hero in October. While he sports a .253/.318/.390 slash line in 2026, he’s been a great contributor lately.
In his last 15 games, Bohm has a .327/.407/.404 slash line. Despite not hitting a home run during that stretch, he deserves his flowers lately. His last postseason in 2025 saw him slash .333/.556/.333 in four games. Could he replicate that over a larger sample size?
One thing is certain: the Philadelphia Phillies need to figure something out quickly, or there might not be an opportunity for them with the surging Diamondbacks.
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