Phillies Roster: How are the Phillies in the NLCS?

Overtime Heroics Editorial

1051 days ago

The MLB playoffs have not disappointed so far with the Phillies and Padres locked at one game apiece while the Astros have a two-game lead on the Yankees. The more shocking detail is how the playoff teams have gotten to the point they are now. Many experts thought that the Phillies roster would not have what it takes to get to the playoffs let alone the NLCS. However, the Phillies roster has gotten hot at the right time and are on roll so far this season. The Phillies had an interesting route in getting to the NLCS and would be an incredible story if they can make it all the way to the World Series.

Phillies 2021 Free Agency and Beginning of the Season Woes

This season started off with some key acquisitions at the trade deadline to help bolster the Phillies roster. Signing big names like Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Brad Hand, and Corey Knebel. These four players added to their roster made a significant impact on their recent success in the playoffs. However, at the beginning of the season, the Phillies were off to a slow start.

Under the management of Joe Girardi, the Phillies went 22-29 in their first 51 games. For the talent on the Phillies roster, the team was underperforming leading to the firing of Girardi. Current head coach Rob Thomson stepped in and made a significant impact on the Phillies roster. The team went 14-3 over their next 17 games putting them back in the race in the NL East.

Trade Deadline Acquisitions

At the deadline, Dave Dombrowski made impact moves to start putting the Phillies roster over the edge. He made three key moves to upgrade positions on the roster that made impacts for the second half. His first move was getting Brandon Marsh from the Angels. Marsh is a defensive upgrade in center field for the Phillies roster. Dombrowski was able to make the move knowing that he had plenty of offense and upgrading the defense was an important move for the Phillies roster.

Afterwards, Dombrowski looked at the pitching staff and bullpen and knew that there were upgrades needing to be made. To upgrade the pitching staff, they acquired Noah Syndergaard from the Angels and David Robertson from the Cubs. Both trades helped the Phillies add depth to the pitching side of the roster. Noah Syndergaard pitched in 10 games with the Phillies with a 4.12 earned run average. Not an ideal ERA but when he pitched in the playoffs against the Braves, he was able to hold serve. Robertson added veteran and playoff experience to the Phillies roster. All these pieces have started to click at the right time making the Phillies very successful so far.

The Phillies in the Playoffs

By the end of the season, the Phillies had to scratch and claw to make it to the playoffs. But after an eleven-year drought, the Phillies made it into the playoffs with an 87-75 record and faced the Cardinals in St. Louis. After getting shutout for eight innings the Phillies roster scored six runs in the ninth inning to jump-start the offense. They then took on the 101-win Braves and were able to take them out in four games to move on to take on the San Diego Padres where they are locked at one game a piece going back to Philadelphia.

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How Far Can the Phillies go?

Both the Phillies and Padres are hot right now with both teams having great success. Both starting pitching staffs are having great success with the offense coming up clutch for both teams. The Phillies have such a home-field with the rowdy fans that they have there. I believe that the Phillies will beat the Padres in seven games.

With how good Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have been this postseason, they will be able to shut down the streaky Padres offense. However, when looking at the World Series, they don"t quite matchup as well with the Houston Astros.

Let us know how for you think the Phillies roster can take them in the comments below!

Main image credit Embed from Getty Images