No Bo, but the Phillies Are Still a Playoff Team
Bo Bichette to the New York Mets (Fox MLB)
The Bo Bichette sweepstakes are over; the Phillies offered him a 7-year deal worth $200 million last Thursday evening. Phillies fans were hopeful that they would wake up last Friday hearing that Bo was a Phillie, but that evening the devastating news hit, “The Mets and Bo Bichette have agreed to a 3-year $126-million-dollar contract.” The Mets seemingly swooped in overnight and came over the top. The Phillies were not going to come close to $42M AAV. The silver lining is the Phillies just re-signed J.T. Realmuto for 3 years, $45 million a year. Okay great, they brought back J.T., but what about the right-handed bat that Bichette was going to provide in the lineup? Unfortunately, the Phillies failed to acquire the middle-of-the-order bat they were hoping for and will have to rely on what got them to the playoffs last season, with a core group of position players who won 96 games in 2025.
This basic core got them to the Division series last season. They have superstar Bryce Harper at 1B, perennial gold glove candidate Bryson Stott at 2B, reigning National League batting champion Trea Turner at SS, and above-average third baseman Alec Bohm at 3B. With the return of J.T. Realmuto behind the plate, the infield is a solid foundation for this roster. That said, the outfield is their biggest weakness. LF will most likely be platooned with Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas, who will also platoon in CF with rookie Justin Crawford, and in RF, newly acquired Adolis García will hold down the position. Let us not forget about MVP candidate, DH Kyle Schwarber. He may not hit 56 home runs this season, but he will continue to do what he does best– driving in runs, with a hit projection of 43 HR by FGDC (Fangraphs).
Phillies 2026 Projected Lineup (Fangraphs
In truth, the starting rotation is another underwhelming unit since it is not known when Zack Wheeler will be available again, and they lost Ranger Suarez to free agency. Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker and a 5th starter, not yet determined, will start the season and if they can perform as they did last season, the return of Wheeler will only bolster that rotation when he returns. The bullpen has been improved with the return of José Alvarado, the addition of Brad Keller and a full season with closer Jhoan Duran.
Phillies 2026 Projected Starting Rotation (Fangraphs)
The Phillies ran it back in 2025, and will do so for one more year with their aging nucleus of Kyle Schwarber, JT Realmuto and Bryce Harper. They also have a new bench coach in Don Mattingly who will provide years of baseball experience and work with manager Rob Thomson in putting the players in the best position to win games. The National League East Division is up for grabs, though now that the Mets have Bo Bichette, their pitching is very suspect. The Braves have a lot of returning players, so Walt Weiss will have his hands full managing for the first time in years. There should be some optimism for this Phillies team in 2026. They just have to go out and perform.
About The Author
Mitch Bernstein is a longtime baseball fan. He is currently a phanatical Phillies phan, having supported the team for the last 30 years.
He loves dissecting each baseball game he watches: pitch by pitch, at bat by at bat. He does a weekly podcast focused primarily on major league baseball and baseball book authors. Guests have included hall of fame sportswriter Jayson Stark, best selling authors Erik Sherman, Peter Golenbock and Jane Leavy and former MLB umpire Dale Scott. You can watch his podcast The Extravaganza with Lou and Mitch at YouTube.com/@Captainlousportsnetwork7335