Continue Observing The Philadelphia Eagles barely made the playoffs despite having a 10-1 record at the beginning of the season. After their defeat in Tampa on Monday night, their season is now officially gone. The Eagles did not meet preseason expectations in what turned out to be a poor season overall. In the offseason, the team will have some choices to make.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers will take the city into baseball season as the football season comes to a conclusion. The Phillies’ catchers and pitchers will report to Clearwater for Spring Training in approximately a month. As baseball season approaches, there are still many reasons to be enthusiastic despite the relatively quiet offseason.
The Phillies have made two postseason appearances in a row. Although there’s always space for improvement, the team didn’t go into the summer intending to add a lot of players. The Phillies’ largest action before Opening Day is probably the re-signing pitcher Aaron Nola.
What are some of the reasons Phillies fans should be enthusiastic about the next season, even though this winter has seemed to drag on a bit?
The starting lineup is still excellent.
The Phillies didn’t have to spend a fortune in this area, even though they didn’t sign any new big-name pitchers this winter. While it’s always wonderful to see a flashy new addition, the Phillies’ rotation is essentially set in stone.
Recall that the squad spent a significant portion of the season without an established fifth starting. Matt Strahm did a great job filling in, but in the end, he was put back to the bullpen to shorten his innings. It took until the middle of June for Cristopher Sánchez to establish himself as a fixture in the lineup. With a 4.46 ERA, Nola let up a career-high 32 home runs.
Zack Wheeler had his greatest ERA since joining the Phillies before the 2020 season, with a 3.61 mark. Even though he had fifteen victories, Taijuan Walker was unstable, therefore the playoffs did not see him. Ranger Suárez struggled with inconsistency and injury.
Several pitchers in the rotation had lower-than-average performances, which suggests that in 2024 the rotation should be even stronger.
Trea Turner at ease and a healthy Bryce Harper
In 2023, the Phillies offense got off to a sluggish start. However, by June, the team’s bats really started to shine, and they were in the top 10 in terms of wRC+, runs, and home runs. All of this occurred when two of the team’s studs were underperforming or missing time. Due to Tommy John surgery, Bryce Harper missed a significant portion of the first two months of the season. A slump that plagued Trea Turner for more than half of the season.
With Turner now at ease in the lineup and Harper healthy for the whole season, the Phillies offense should continue to produce a ton of runs in a lineup that already features several other elite hitters.
The Philadelphia Phillies will
