The Philadelphia Phillies haven’t made many major changes to their roster this offseason, but they are still regarded as one of the best teams in baseball. It would be hard to argue against that after the campaign they just put together. While their playoff run was nowhere near as successful as they had expected, there were still plenty of positives to take away since they won 95 games in the regular season, which was the second-most in baseball, and are bringing back a majority of the same core. They should once again be in the mix to win the National League East, especially after addressing one of their biggest needs by acquiring Jesus Luzardo from the Miami Marlins to take over as the No. 5 starter in their rotation, which should be a massive upgrade over what was provided last year. The Phillies now sport one of the best rotations in baseball, headlined by Cy Young Award runner-up, Zack Wheeler. Behind him is the always-reliable Aaron Nola and two All-Stars; Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez. At some point in 2025, their top prospect, Andrew Painter, is also expected to make his debut. There aren’t many teams in baseball that have the kind of star power on the mound that Philadelphia possesses. The only teams that come close to matching it are the Seattle Mariners and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Everyone in baseball is currently trying to catch the Dodgers, who won the title and have greatly improved their roster since. Their front office has been operating this offseason on easy mode, bringing back outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and relief pitch Blake Trienen. They have added Michael Conforto to the mix in their lineup along with infielder Hyeseong Kim.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and star international player Roki Sasaki were added to a rotation that also includes Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and likely Shohei Ohtani. If a team is somehow find success against that group, an already strong bullpen has added Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, two of the best relievers who were available on the market this offseason, to the mix. Los Angeles has compiled a legitimate superteam, as they have five aces filling their rotation. Competing and taking down that team will be a tall task, but some believe if anyone is going to do it, it will be the Phillies. One of those who is high on Philadelphia entering the season is former MLB All-Star outfielder, Johnny Damon. The Boston Red Sox World Series champion revealed how strongly he feels about the Phillies. ”The team that would scare me with the Dodgers would be the Phillies. I’ve been rooting for them, I love the way they play the game. I love their manager, Rob Thompson, and their hitting coach, Kevin Long. We were double-A roommates back in the day. I’m rooting for Philly, but you gotta go through the Dodgers and hopefully, they can do it. But I think the Dodgers are the strongest team right now,” he said per DJ Siddiqi. Getting through the defending champions is going to be an incredibly difficult task. Damon is correct in his assessment that they are the toughest team, but Philadelphia will give them as stiff of a test as possible when they match up against each other.
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